Untangling the Web
by BrookeErinMelton
Summary: Jessica Drew is moving back to New York City, where it all started. The place she grew up, where she developed her special abilities & where her parents were murdered. While attending the local high school, Jessica meets a boy named Peter Parker & becomes smitten with him. Secrets will come out as she tries to untangle the web of her childhood, some more dangerous than others...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Just to let everyone know who reads this, this is my story. It's also posted on another site and I figured for Copyright purposes, I should say this ahead of ime so I'm not accused of copying/stealing someone's story. I'm also using the same username (BrookeErinMelton) so there aren't anymore confusions. **

**I hope everyone who reads this, loves the story and please, please leave me a review and tell me what you think! :D**

**Cast:**

Dianna Agron as Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman

Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man

Benjamin Stone as Colton (Cole) Drew

Michael Cain as Jeffery Holland (Butler)

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man

Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy

Rhys Ifans as Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard

Chris Zylka as Eugene "Flash" Thompson

Sally Field as May Parker (Peter's Aunt)

Martin Sheen as Ben Parker (Peter's Uncle)

Denis Leary as Capt. George Stacy (Gwen's Dad)

Clark Gregg as (Agent/Principal) Phil Coulson

Samuel L. Jackson as Director Nick Fury

J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson

Irrafan Khan as Rajit Ratha (Osborn's assistant)

Chris Cooper as Mr. Norman Osborn

Elias Koteas as Mac Gargan

Aaron Eckhart as Jonathan Drew (Jessica's Father)

January Jones as Merriam Drew (Jessica's Mom)

* * *

**Untangling the Web**

**Chapter One**

_"People say "what you are doesn't determine who you are, it's what you do in life that defines you..." All my life, I've tried so hard to be what other people want me to be; for my parents, for my brother and now they're all gone. I never even considered myself and what I wanted... but now... now it's my time. I swore on the day I had to bury another family member, I would take a stand, rise up against my enemies. I was tired of hiding in the shadows from them... and from him..._

_...But how do I defeat the monsters... without becoming one myself?"_

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

I just stood there, with an emotionless face, staring at the black caskets as little water droplets fell from the sky. Hundreds had showed up for the memorial but no more than thirty were invited to watch the burial. My eyes drifted, taking in the sight of everyone in black; dresses for the women and tuxes for the men. A few here and there were holding roses: red and white. Standing completely still, not making a single noise, I watched friends of the family walk forward, mumble a prayer under their breath and then gently laid their roses on top of the caskets before walking back to their previous spot. After everyone gave their roses and paid their respect, they walked to their cars. They were probably going home to their family... or just had better things to do.

Death didn't affect others until they lost someone close to them. They didn't care... sure they felt pity but tomorrow they would go on with their lives but should I do? I can't go back home here... I have no friends and now... I have no family.

I kept standing, by myself, holding an umbrella above my head to keep from getting wet. A single tear fell slowly down my cheek as I sniffled, trying to hold back all the tears that were being held hostage in my eyes.

Inhaling deeply, I took a small step forward, around the caskets before stepping in between them. After exhaling, I sucked in another breath as I lifted my hand, remembering the two roses I held. Unlike the others, I did not choose red or white roses. Red roses symbolized love and white roses meant purity. Qualities like that were rare to me but the colors were too common. I stared down at the blue roses, admiring their color. A blue rose was rare, like each of my family members to me, and this is why I liked them. It represented my aunt and uncle a lot better than red or white. Sniffling, I placed one rose on each of their caskets before reading their shared grave stone.

_'Irene and Michael Drew,_

_Loving and caring; friends, aunt and uncle_

_1982 - 2012'_

_They were so young,_ I thought. And they were planning on starting a family… but that dream and their lives were ripped away from them.

I swallowed back the lump in my throat and wiped away any tears that had fallen onto my cheeks. I felt responsible for their deaths but I pushed the guilt aside. I stared at the caskets for another minute before taking a few steps back, then turning around to leave. Even though I saw my driver standing outside the car waiting for me, while holding an umbrella as well, I just continued to walk down the sidewalk. I wanted to be alone for a moment, to just walk by myself and enjoy the fresh air.

As I walked down the pavement, I lowered my umbrella letting the rain fall on me. As the cool water hit my face, I felt the sadness inside begin to lighten up.

It doesn't take long for me to get completely soak but I lifted my umbrella back over my head and continued walking. As I did so, I heard a car driving slow a couple feet behind me and I didn't even have to look back to know who it was. I kept my calm, slow pace as I walked on, acting oblivious to the following car. But only second after that car came to a stop, the door opened. At this time, I glanced back seeing my driver step out of his car. He ran over to me, umbrella in hand, "Miss Drew, why did you run off? I'm here to pick you up, remember?" He explained in soft tone, like he was talking to a child.

"I know, but I can walk home from here." I said, turning around to leave. He cut me off, holding his available hand up, respectfully.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but Jeffery's orders." I sighed heavily knowing that if I didn't go with him now, Jeffery would lecture me later. I complied by giving him a small nod and turning toward the car; but before reaching the car, I suddenly turned back and said, "Hey, think fast" I said before tossing him by opened umbrella. With that blocking his face, I took the opportunity to run off in the opposite direction.

"Miss Drew!" He yelled, in hopes I would stop but of course I didn't. As I rounded the corner, I kicked off my shoes and began using all my strength to run as fast as I could. When I had made it to Main Street, I saw Randall's car not far behind. When he started to get closer, he rolled his window down. "Miss Drew, please" He started while watching the road to not hitting anything, then glancing at me as I ran. "Please get in the car" He added.

Instead of answering him, I turned off into nearest alley. I heard him drive pass the alley and attempt to turn around but I was already at the dead end of the alley. As the sound of his engine neared, I glanced up at the tall stone wall. Knowing I couldn't just climb up the wall in this outfit, I grabbed the bottom (left-side) of my dress and torn it upward slightly, this gave me more room to move my legs. I placed my hand on the wall, and just like rock climbing, I began to scale up the wall, only using my hands and feet. There was a substance on my hands and feet that made it easy for me to hold to walls. I could just as easily let go of the wall too. It had been awhile since I had used this ability but I quickly adapted and went faster. Reaching the top, I hopped over with ease, landing on the roof, then peered down, seeing the 30-foot drop. I smiled with victory but lowered myself when Randall's car pulled into the alley. Leaning against the wall, as low as I could, I listened very carefully to the noises he made. I heard the car door open and footsteps down below. He, no doubt, was looking around the alley as to where I had gone. Randall was my new driver, the other retired so he wasn't up to date with my family's secrets, including my own. That being said, he would never have thought I had climbed this wall.

"Miss Drew!" He called, his voice echoing down the alley before he sighed then climbed back into his car. I peeked over the top, watching him back out of the alley and drive back onto Main Street. I sighed with relief, leaning against the wall, and rested slightly. I then had noticed the rain had stopped and the sun was pushing through the clouds.

As I sat there, resting, out of nowhere a bell rang out causing me to clamp my hands over my ears quickly, in an attempt to block the sound. I continued to hold my hands over my ears until the noise stopped a minute later. When it was over, I let out a breath and dropped my hands. Groaning, I stood up, rubbing my forehead as a headache started. Looking up to where the noise came from, I realized I was standing on top of the town's church. More specifically the one I had been in not long ago for my Aunt and Uncle's memorial. I guess I didn't get as far as I had thought. After staring at the bell tower for a moment, enjoying its beauty (as long as it was silent), I decided to leave. Running from my driver was good exercise but now I needed to go home because I had some packing to do. My plane was leaving in half an hour.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

Instead of walking through the front door to get inside, I used my window. I looked up at my aunt and uncle's 4-story mansion. It was a family house. All the Drew's homes were passed on to their decedents. My room was on the 3rd floor and I began climbing the ivy patch that grew all the way up, even passed my room. As I became closer to my window, I was surprise to see it being opened. An older man's head popped out and stared down at me.

"Wouldn't it have been easier to use the front door, Madam Drew?" He asked, his English accent filling my ears.

I half laughed, "Well, you know me, Jeffery." I said, "I love a challenge" Jeffery took a step back, allowing me to swing my legs over and place them onto floor as I slipped into the room. He closed the window behind me and watched as I walked across my floor, bare footed and opened my closet door. I grabbed a pair of skinny jeans, tank top and my converse, before taking a pair of boy shorts and a bra with me to the bathroom, since my current bra were ruin from getting soaked in the rain. Walking into the bathroom, I shut the door and quickly changed into the clothes. I even brushed my hair out and put it into a simple pony tail before leaving my bathroom. When I re-entered my room, Jeffery was still in the same standing position, wearing a very stern look.

I grabbed my suitcase from under my bed, which was mostly packed, but I needed a few more essentials.

"And just where do you think you're going?" He asked with parental tone as he walked over to me.

"I'm leaving. I already told you that, Jeffery." I stated, not even looking at him.

"Yes" He said, "But I didn't think it would be so soon. After what happened... are you sure you just want to leave?"

As I packed my parents journals into my suitcase, I spoke. "There's nothing here for me anymore, Jeffery" I said it in a low tone. I zipped up my bag and sighed, "I can't stay here." I started to walk passed him but he stopped me, grabbing my hand gently.

"I truly am sorry for your lost, Madam Drew." I placed my hand over his.

"Dido" I said then added "And how many times must I tell you to stop calling me Madam Drew? It's not my name."

He nodded with a chuckle, "Yes, yes I know." I gave him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek before turning around. I headed to the door when I heard Jeffery ask, "Where will you go then?"

I slowed my pace, touching the doorway as I glanced back at him, "Back to where it all started" I said then glanced back, "I'll send the movers for the rest of my things."

As I came to the front door, I grabbed my keys from the small table and reach into the side of my bag. Pulling out one of my airplane tickets, I laid it on the table, leaving a note that said_ 'Jeffery, in case you change your mind. Love, J'_

Throwing my purse over my shoulder, I picked up my suitcase and opened the front door. The cool air hit my face and I felt relief again. Sure I was still upset over my aunt and uncle's death but right now I couldn't focus on that.

As I unlocked my car, I was approached by my driver, Randall. "Miss Drew, there you are. You had me worried."

"Yes, I'm sorry about that but you should be proud." I said, tossing my purse into the passenger seat.

"Proud of what, ma'am...?" He asked eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

"You caught up with me a lot faster than my old drivers." I explained smiling, and then I gave him a hard pat on the side of his arm before slipping into my car. Turning on the engine, I sped out of the driveway and down the back road, heading towards the city.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

"Flight 281 to New York City, now boarding" I stood up, with my bags and ticket, walking towards gate.

"Ticket please" The young brunette woman said with a nice smile, I smiled back at her and handed her my ticket. "First Class, seat 1-A. Enjoy your flight" She said, I smiled again and took my ticket back but before I could walk to the plane, I heard some yell behind me.

"Wait!" I turned around and smiled widely "I'm coming" He said, I chuckled and when he reached me he added, "Age has done me no good." I laughed and waited for him to give his ticket to woman and we both boarded the plane, taking our seats.

While everyone took their seats on the plane, I laid my head on his shoulder "I'm glad you decided to come, Jeffery" I told him. "The house would be too lonely without you there."

"With you gone, my dear, I would have no reason to stay either." He said, I smiled and closed my eyes, feeling sleepily. I had remembered I hadn't slept in over two days. The last words I heard before I fell into complete darkness was Jeffery saying "Sleep well, Jessica"

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

"Madam Drew" A voice said as I was being nudged, in return, I groaned wanting to be left alone. "Madam" The voice repeated so I gave in and opened my eyes, temporarily blinded by a light. When my eyes adjusted, a fuzzy figure in front of me became clear. "We're here, Madam" Jeffery said.

With a small groan, I stood up and said with tired voice "Stop calling me that." Ignoring my comment, he handed me my bag and leaded me out of the plane and onto ground. The weather was different from England; it was little bit warmer, more humidity. Looping my arm with Jeffery, we both walked towards the black car waiting for us outside the airport. The driver opened the door for us; Jeffery thanked him as we got into the car.

I immediately sat across from Jeffery, so I could have my own space, and put my sunglasses on. My eyes were being very sensitive to lighting and to top it off, my head was pounding.

"Are you feeling well, Madam Drew?" Jeffery asked

"Do I look like I'm 'feeling well', Master Jeffery?" I asked as a rhetorical question, mocking his proper tone.

"No matter how you feel, sarcasm will not be tolerated." He said, I half smiled finding amusement in his words.

I laid my head back, closing my eyes for what only felt like only a minute but when I opened them again, I looked out the window. We were no longer in the city, but on an abandoned road. I lowered my sunglasses to look out the window as I lowered it as well, and stared at the house on the hill.

After the car had parked in the driveway, I got out, not even waiting on Jeffery; instead I just stared at the house. A mix of emotions flooded into my mind and I couldn't seem to move any further from where I was. It had been over twelve years since I was last in this house but it felt more like a hundred, even though the memories were as fresh as yesterday.

I felt someone touch my shoulder causing my head to snap to the side, in turn I noticed Jeffery standing beside me and he wore a worried expression.

"You don't have to do this." He said as I looked from him then back to the house.

"Yes, I do" I said, "Part of the reason why I'm here is to face my fears." I muttered and then took a slow step forward before continuing on with a normal pace.

As my hand touched the door knob, I glanced back at Jeffery, who was helping the driver with our bags before returning my focus to the door. I turned the knob to open the door, which creaked loudly, and the smell of old wood filled my nose. Entering, I sucked in a breath, seeing the inside of the house for the first time in years. I left the front door open and turned in a circle while walking around the foyer. I froze when a certain door caught my eye; I recognized it instantly.

Reaching the door, which was cracked slightly, I pushed it open softly and stepped into the room. I then glanced around at what was left of my father's office. Exhaling, I walked over to the old shelves that used to be filled top to bottom with books, but now only held a few.

My eyes quickly targeted the floor when I stepped onto something and it cracked. Stepping back, I bent down, picking up the picture frame. As I did so, the broken glass fell onto the floor. After standing up, I flipped the picture frame over and ran my finger across the old picture while a lump formed in the back of my throat but I forced myself not to cry.

The picture was of my parents, my brother and me. Cole was no more than eight in this photo which meant I was six; and that also meant, it was the last photo that was taken of my family before my parents died.

Slowly I sat down, crossing my legs together while sitting on the floor, examining the photo. I sniffled before covering my mouth with my hand to keep from whimpering. As I heard voices come from outside the office, I quickly stood up, taking the photo with me, and walked over to the small closet in the far corner of the office. I open the doors and stepped in, then cracked them a tiny bit so I could see out as I sat on the floor; it gave me a clear view of my dad's desk. I held the picture to my chest, along with my knees and sat there as a memory played in my mind, like it was actually happening.

_"18... 19... 20..." I heard my father count from the hallway, "Here I come" He said as I held in a giggle. I covered my mouth when the office door was pushed open. "I wonder where Jessica is" My daddy whispered as he walked slowly through his office, heading to look around his desk. "Where is Jessica?" He said as he rounded his desk and dropped to the floor to look underneath and said "Boo!" I giggled when he realized I wasn't there. With a small gasp, I clamp my other hand over my mouth when he looked towards the closet. As he neared it, he says "Is that my Jessibear I hear?" I smiled big underneath my hands and squealed loudly when he ripped open the shutter doors. He smiled big at me and grabbed me up, tickling me as he pulled me from the closet. I was giggling and laughing like crazy as he spun me around in his arms. When he finally stood still, he looked at me, lovingly. "Did you know you're my favorite?" He said, and I blushed._

_"Hey!" Both our heads swung towards the doorway, where my older brother stood. "What about me?"_

_"What about you?" My father repeated, playfully. Cole crossed his arms over his chest, pouting. "Well, you're my favorite too. Now come on over here, I need to talk to both of you." He said motioning towards Cole as he sat down in his office chair, placing me on his right knee, before picking up Cole to put him on his left. "Your mother and I love the two of very much and we always will. We love the two of you equally. No more towards one or less towards the other, do you understand?" We both nodded along, "I need you to promise me that no matter what happens, you'll stand by each other, as family." He said, "As brother and sister."_

_"We promise" Cole and I said to our father at the same time. He gave us both a kiss on the cheek and Col, being a little boy, wiped it off like it had cooties._

_"You two are special, you know that?" He said, brushing the hair from my face and then glanced at Cole. "You may not realize how much now but when you get older... you'll see." He flicked my brother's chin playfully; Cole rubbed his chin, pouting again. "Neither of you are like other kids. You're different and different is good, not bad. So no matter what people say to others and no matter what they tell you... don't believe that you're not worth anything." He said, looking at each other us. "And one day... if your mother and I are no longer around..." He started slowly. "We'll always be here" He added then pointed at my heart then Cole's, "Right here, in your heart, okay?"_

_"Daddy...?" I said, he then looked at me. "Are you and mommy leaving?"_

_"Not today sweetie." He said kissing the side of my forehead before I laid my head on his shoulder. "Not today" He repeated._

_"I love you, Daddy" I said_

_"I love you too, sweetie." He said, and then ruffled Cole's hair. "How 'bout you, son...?"_

_"Yeah, I guess I love ya'll too" He said, my dad and I gasped dramatically at him. My dad and I both reached over and began tickling him as revenge._

_Causing the laughter to stop, we suddenly heard the sound of glass shattering. Our father's head snapped towards the doorway, which lead into a dark foyer._

_"Merriam...?" My father called to my mother, but when he got no respond he stood up, placing me on the floor, along with Cole._

_Cole and I looked to each other as our father walked slowly to the doorway. After he peered into the hallway, he quickly came back in and grabbed the two of us, moving us to the closet._

_"Daddy-" I started to say but he cut me off._

_"I want the two of you to wait in here until I come back, and only come out when I say so, understand?" He whispered and Cole nodded._

_"Daddy, I'm scared" I said when I heard the sound of more glass being shattered._

_He bends down, putting his hands on my shoulder. "There's nothing to be afraid of, sweetie, okay? You're gonna be fine." He looked to my brother, "Cole, stay with your sister." He nodded._

_"Daddy" I said once more reaching out to him as he let go of my hand to leave._

The memory had faded from my mind when Jeffery opened the doors and asked, "What are you doing in here?"

It took me a second to come down from my memory but when I did, I said "He lied to me"

"Who did?" He asked concerned.

"My father" I added, "That night... he said he wouldn't leave us… He lied." I said glancing upward at him, tears in my eyes. Instead of pulling me from the closet, Jeffery began to sit down; I scooted over giving him some room. He grunted like an old man as he sat down, getting comfortable.

After a moment of silence, he took a deep breath before saying, "Your father never once lied to you or your brother. What happened that night... it was not something he had planned." I stared straight forward into the office, staring at my father's desk. "He never wanted to leave you alone, or your brother. Neither would have your mother. Don't you _ever_ think otherwise" He demanded softly.

"I miss them, Jeffery." I whimpered, a tear running down my face and I didn't even brush it away. "I miss them so much." I said laying my head on his shoulder. Jeffery then wrapped an arm around me, comfortingly.

"Dido" He said with a sad tone then sighed, "But the important thing to remember is that even though they are no longer here on Earth, they will have always been in our hearts." I half smiled, remembering my dad saying the same thing.

"I remember dad telling me that that the night... it's like he knew something was going to happen." I stated

"Your father was a very smart man; some men can be imitative by that. Some even fear it."

"That's not why they killed him." I said flatly.

"Maybe, I guess we'll never truly know why." Jeffery said

_Maybe not today,_ I thought, _But soon... I will find out what happened._

After a couple minutes of silence and wiping away all my tears, I lifted Jeffery's hand, reading his watch. "Well, I better get unpacked and get to sleep soon; I have a lot to do tomorrow."

"Tomorrow is a Sunday, my dear." He said, "Not to mention we just got here, what plans do you have already?" He asked

I stood up and looked at him, "I already told you Jeffery, I came here for reason." I said, holding my hand out to help him. He took my hand and I lifted him up easily, since my strength was stronger than most women.

"And what reason is that? You have not yet told me." He pointed out.

"I'm not yet sure myself but when I find out, you'll be the first to know." I said lofty before giving him a kiss on the cheek, then began walking out with the picture frame still in hand.

"Would you like me to clean the mess, Madam?" He said stopping me from leaving the room, I glanced back at the office.

"No need, I'd prefer to do it myself." I said softly. "Good night, Jeffery."

"Good night, Madam" He replied back as I left the office and headed up the stair case.

When I had found my old room, mainly because my bags were by the door, I sighed. I was surprised to see that my room was still set up the same but luckily the taste was more mature. The last I remember, it had Barbie's, ponies and pink everywhere. After twelve years, my interests have changed. I was more of blue person now which is why I admired the fact that my room is a midnight blue color. It has a Victorian-vintage/classy look yet modern to it and I liked it. Got to give Jeffery props, he always knew what I liked.

I walked over to my nightstand, taking the current empty picture frame, left for decoration, and switched out the blank white paper on the inside with the photo of my parents. While doing so, I noticed something fall to the floor and when looking down, I realized it was a piece of paper. I bent down, picking up the paper and sat on my new bed, studying it. I saw that it was an old piece of newspaper so I turned it over to find a photo. It was of four men, including my father. There were two men I didn't know and just one I didn't fully recognize. I looked at the names going in order at the bottom of the photo:

_Scientist Jonathan Drew, Richard Parker, Mr. Norman Osborn (founder of Oscorp, Inc.) and Dr. Curt Connors._

"Richard Parker" I said out loud slowly.

_Why does that sound so familiar?_ I thought but shrugged it off, _I'll find out who he is later_. I then thought about the other man, "Dr. Curt Connors." I said out loud, thinking really hard. I knew him, I just couldn't remember how. Apparently my father knew him, so maybe they were friends. I don't know, I'll have to talk to him later.

The name "Osborn" seemed to move around my head for a minute, and then it dawned on me. Mr. Norman Osborn was my father's boss while he worked at Oscorp. Oscorp was just in the city, I could go there tomorrow.

I smiled to myself; _I guess I figured out what my plans will be tomorrow then_.

Hopping off my bed, I grabbed my suitcases, and threw them onto my bed. I began opening each one, there were only two with me at the moment, and the rest of my stuff would be here tomorrow afternoon. I unpacked my clothes, hanging them up in my walk-in closet and dresser drawers. The next bag was for my bathroom. Taking the bag with me into the bathroom, I sat it down on the counter, pulling things out.

I pulled out my entire toothbrush kit; toothpaste, floss and mouth wash included. I was very organized, especially when it came to packing. Next was bath/shower items, I placed my Vanilla (with Mixed Berries) Shampoo/Body Wash from Victoria's Secret on the little stand inside the shower, along with my razor and shaving cream. I didn't pack much, usually I pack several suitcases full of stuff I don't need but I really didn't want to stay another minute in England.

And speaking of England, I was still on their time so even though it was only 5 o'clock in the afternoon, it felt more like 11 o'clock. And my little "nap" didn't cut it on the plane because I was still sleepy.

Walking back into my room, I took out my laptop from my bag and began searching the web for Oscorp information, like a phone number for instance. When I found the main website, I clicked on the "contact info" tab and found a number instantly. Picking up my cell phone, I dialed the number and held the phone to my ear as it rang. After the second ring, a woman picked up the phone. "Oscorp, Inc. Vanessa speaking, how can I help you?"

"Hi, Vanessa, I was hoping to make an appointment to meet with Norman Osborn tomorrow morning, is he available?" I said into the phone being nice.

"Mr. Osborn is a very busy man." She replied

"Well, in that case, just tell him to call me." I said, knowing what was about to happen.

"Okay, can I have your name please?"

"Jessica Drew, the daughter of Jonathan Drew" After I spoke, there was a moment of silence.

"One moment please" She said then there was complete silence for over a minute. "Ma'am, are you still there?"

"Yep" I said, examining my nails with boredom.

"I just spoke with Mr. Osborn; he said tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock will be fine." She informed me.

"Thank you, Vanessa; I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." I said with my "sarcastic but nice" tone before hanging up.

Before logging off my computer, I checked what time Oscorp opens. The doors open at five in the morning for the cleaning crew so I set my alarm for 5am. Pulling off my converse, throwing them to the floor, I then stripped down and changed into some pajamas. I walked around my room and closed all the curtains, after double checking the locks on the window seals and if it wasn't for my heighten senses; I wouldn't be able to see anything in the room with it being pitch black. I walked over to my bed with ease and crawled into the new Egyptian sheets. Turning on my side, I laid there thinking about my Aunt and Uncle and the last time I had seen them. They were both so happy, just like my parents were. They were just another couple that died far too soon and for no reason. I knew who was to blame for their deaths but there was nothing I could do. If only I knew where he was… not that it made a difference. I wouldn't know the first thing to do if he showed up. Even if I did, what are the chances I would actually do anything?

Sighing, I pushed away all my worries and doubts then closed my eyes. I needed my sleep since I had a very important meeting in the morning to attend.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ


	2. Chapter 2

**Untangling the Web**

**Chapter Two**

"What to wear, what to wear?" I asked myself to while looking through my closet. Since I wanted to look older and professional during the "meeting", I decided to go with all black. So I slipped on a black lace camisole and a pair of black skinny jeans.

Walking into my bathroom, I decided to curl my hair so I plugged in the curly iron and I began to put on my makeup while I waited. All I needed was mascara and lip gloss. Another bonus to having my abilities, somehow I never broke out, and never had a blemish or even as much as a rash. After adding the gloss to my lips, giving them a shine, I picked up my curly iron and went straight to work. Within five minutes, I was able to give myself light curls.

On my way out of the bathroom, I stopped by my closet and pick out some Pelle Moda knee high boots. While slipping those on, I looked towards my bags and decide to go with the Maison Martin Margiela bag. After zipping up my last boot, I went to my jewelry box and picked out a leather necklace with a brass leaf pendant and sterling hoops with an onyx stone. Walking out of the closet, I quickly grabbed my bag, a trench coat and a black lace fedora. By the time I reached my nightstand, I had already put on my coat, buttoned and tied it. I placed the bag on my bed, opening it and pulling out the old newspaper photo of my Father with Oscorp and placed it in my bag after glancing at it briefly.

I picked up my leather shoulder bag, taking out the current items and moving them into my new purse. I place the bag over my shoulder, and then tuck my phone from the nightstand into my pocket.

Since it was only 6:30am, I crept down the stairs not wanting to make any noise, because the last thing I needed was Jeffery waking up right now. When I reached the foyer I wrote a little note, using the notepad and pen on the table, leaving it for him.

'Jeffery,

Had plans in town early this morning, should be back before lunch time. Try not to worry too much while I'm gone.

-Jessica'

I grabbed my keys from the marble bowl and walked outside to my car. Since it was morning, it was a lot cooler outside so my coat came in handy.

Unlocking my new black Ford Mustang Giugiaro Concept that was parked in front of the house, I slipped in and turned on the engine quickly, trying to heat up the car. After placing my bag in the passenger seat, I clicked on the radio and began to drive down the driveway.

When the radio clicked on, music instantly filled my car. I smiled when I heard "Show Me the Money" by Petey Pablo play through my speakers.

The music filled my entire car at once and I couldn't help but sing a lot. Jeffery used to look worried every time I would sing the song, since I knew the words by heart and he thought it was a very 'inappropriate' song.

It only took less than ten minutes for me to reach the city and when I did everything seemed so different. For instance, there were tons of new buildings. I glanced at my clock, seeing 6:41am written, and then understood why the streets were basically empty.

It wasn't long after my little drive through the downtown area, that I found Oscorp Inc. It had to be the tallest building in the city, I didn't know for sure but I would definitely find out later, just for fun.

Before turning on the street of the Oscorp building, I kept straight and parked in the alley around the corner. Locking up my car, I got out and went to end of the stone wall, a wall that was between me and 50 feet from the back door of the Oscorp building. And since I had no lock picks, I just had to wait.

I had checked the Oscorp website (after hacking into it this morning) and found out that maintenance was schedule to come in around 6:45am so it would be any minute now. If they were on time, that is. In order to past time, I started to play Tetris on my phone while I waited and had reached level 5 when I heard the sound of a key being turned inside a lock. I peeked around the corner and saw an elderly man and a younger woman, dressed like janitors, unlocking the back door.

Right as they entered, leaving the door to close itself, I gripped the side of it, just as it was about to close. I saw the janitors were opening another door and pulling out supplies as I walked in, it helped me to go unnoticed. As I walked by them, I could sense the woman glance at the back door as if she had seen something, but by the time she checked the entire hallway, I had already rounded the corner. She had missed me by just a second.

I checked the sign that showed who was on what level and saw that Normal Osborn was on the top floor, figures. Instead of taking the elevator, I took the stairs, so no cameras. I opened the door to the stairwell and before I did anything else, I checked the small window on the door to make sure none of the cleaning staff was around. I stepped onto the railing and made sure my purse was tightly secure on my shoulder before lunched upward. Gripping onto the next railing, I repeated this action until I reached the very top floor, saving me at least fifteen minutes of walking and believe it or not, jumping took less energy and effort. For me, that is.

As I open the door to the 108th floor, I peered out first to make sure no one was around. When I didn't hear any noises, I stepped out and quickly walked down the hall. I breezed right by, what I'm guessing was the secretary's desk and smirked when I saw Vanessa's little name card on the desk.

The lights were off in this area, the hallway lights were set on dim, so I was able to walk in the shadows, not to be spotted in cameras. I wasn't sure if the security guards were already here.

When I reached the door that had said 'Mr. Norman Osborn, Founder of Oscorp, Inc.', I found that it was locked. Heading back to the Vanessa's desk, I began searching her things, but made sure to put everything back in same place, looking untouched. Opening each drawer, I felt the top and bottom of them checking for a key, because I knew she would have one. When I couldn't find any, I decided to look in plain sight. Opening the drawer in the middle of her desk, that was filled with her office supplies; I saw a ring of keys. Pull it out, I choose the one that had N.O. Office written on it. You know, you would think they would go through more trouble with hiding the key to the owner of Oscorp's office. Anyone could find this key and break into his office. 'Like me, for instance.' I thought as I stuck the key into the lock and turned it, hearing the click of bolt unlocking. Stepping into his office, I began my work. I pulled out my cell phone and clicked on the app that tracks and disables any media device in any room you're in. After turning on the tracker, I clicked on the disablers as well. Even though, the disabler shut off the cameras, I should still be able to find them.

As I moved through the room, the app would tell me where each camera was. It only took me about 15 minutes to find four different cameras (on the shelves) and two voice recorders. Luckily, the lights that signal the recorders and cameras are on were off, so my app must have worked. Next, I reached into my purse, I pulling out a small silver case (which I had packed earlier that morning). Sitting it on the desk, I opened the case and pulled out the mini cameras and microphones I had brought. I then began to place them around the room, hiding each one. I had three cameras (one for each wall), minus the wall-size glass window behind Osborn's desk. I made sure they were all pointed towards his desk, giving me a clear view of what he was doing and who was in his office. The cameras were connected to my phone so I walked around the room in front of the cameras, checking how clear the footage was and even in the dim lighting; I was convinced they were working well.

Next was Norman's desk. Using my phone, I checked his desk. There were no cameras but there was another voice recorder. A man with three voice recorders and four different cameras in his office definitely started to raise suspicions for me.

Turning on the small desk lamp, I began searching through his drawer. I found nothing that stuck out, nothing about my parents. That is until I reached the bottom drawer, and noticed it was the only one locked.

I pulled on it but realized if I pulled too hard with all my strength, it would break and that was the last thing I needed. Sitting on the floor, I thought for a moment. I knew, unlike his office door, the key would not be in plain sight this time. I began to check under the drawers and his desk but I still couldn't find a key. Instead of wasting time, seeing that it was already 7:10am, I decided to use a paper clip from his desk. Straightening the paper clip out, I stuck it into the keyhole then grabbed another leaving it slightly bent, sticking under the first paper clip. After twisting it around a bit, I heard a "clicking" sound. With a proud smile, I pulled open the drawer and stared at the emptiness with confusion. I knew there had to be something in the drawer, otherwise why would it be locked? Moving my fingers around the outside of the drawer, I found a soft spot and pushed it. After hearing air being released, the bottom of the wooden drawer popped open, on the inside.

I reviewed what had just happened and scoffed. How cliché, I thought before pulling up the wooden plank revealing tattered files, stuffed with papers. Pulling it out, I sat down in Norman's desk chair and examined the outside of the files before opening them. The label tab on the side of the file caught my eyes and I stared at the written symbols on it. It was two 'O' with a slash through each one. I furrowed my eyes wondering what it meant. I wondered if it stood for the two zero's in Oscorp but I couldn't be sure. I ran my finger over the symbol, it looked so familiar to me but instead of day dreaming about it, I opened the files and examined them. After reading over in seconds, I saw that it was about Cross-Genetics, mixing genetics of another species with human DNA. Like me, I thought to myself.

I spotted my father's name, along with "Richard Parker" and "Dr. Curt Connors" throughout the file. Apparently, they were all working together on this project but the last update was on 6/25/02, which was only a couple days before my parents died. As I flipped to the next page, I saw a picture of a machine, I wasn't sure what it was or what it was for but it seemed familiar too. I continued on through the file, and stopped when I spotted the same piece of newspaper clipping with my father, Richard Parker, Dr. Connors and Norman Osborn. I took the one from my purse and placed it next to the other, comparing it. It was in fact the same photo. I wondered why the picture (I found) was hidden inside a frame; I mean, did my dad put it there? And if he did, why put it in the frame behind a picture of our family...? Was it supposed to mean something? Was it supposed to mean something to me?

I sighed, placing the photo back into my purse and flipping through the rest of the papers. My searching came to a stop suddenly I heard the elevator door dings. I clicked closed the file, throw it back into the drawer, covered and closed it then clicked on the lamp. I thought I was in the clear until I noticed I had left the office door cracked.

"Damn it" I muttered before kicking my purse underneath the desk. I quietly rushed towards the door but right when I was about to shut the door, it was being pushed opened. Out of reflex, I immediately jumped up and pressed my backside against the top of the wall, with only an inch to spare when the door was opened.

I watched a young woman, with long black hair, walk into the office and as she approached the desk, I moved across the ceiling and hid in the corner of the room, in a patch of darkness. Luckily I did, because only a second later she glanced back towards the door where I original was. The woman stood there for another minute before walking out, shutting the door behind her. A few seconds after, I heard the sound of the door being locked shut so I let out a huge breath, laying my head against the wall in relief.

Sighing, I dropped from the wall with ease and headed back to the desk, grabbing my purse from underneath. I checked around the room and made sure nothing was out of place.

When I was hundred percent sure, I took off my coat, laid it on the corner of the desk and dropped my purse in front of the "locked" drawer. To get comfortable, I lifted my legs and placed them on top of my coat, on top of the desk.

I just sat there and waiting in the dark. I didn't mind though, I kind of enjoyed the silence, it was peaceful and it gave me a chance to think about what I was going to say when Norman got here. A part of me was nervous because I didn't know what to expect nor had a met Norman Osborn before. The other part of me was kind of anger because there was a chance this is the man responsible for the death of my parents. After checking my phone, and seeing that is 7:45am, I decided to close my eyes while waiting.

While sitting in the office, I could hear (who I guessed was Vanessa) at her desk, slurping her coffee and scribbling on papers. I could literally hear the sound of the pen scrapping against the paper as she wrote.

At 7:55am, I heard the elevator doors ding but I still kept my eyes closed and just listened to the voices.

"Good morning, Vanessa" A male voice said

"Good morning, Mr. Osborn." She replied, cheerfully.

"What do I have planned for the day?" He asked

I heard a few papers shuffling before she said, "Nothing, sir..." She paused, "Except for your meeting with a... Jessica Drew at 8 o'clock" She finished but he said nothing for a moment.

"Oh, that's right. Well, thank you Vanessa." He said and I heard a set of footsteps heading towards the office. The sound of keys jingling entered my ears, so I opened my eyes. When the door opened, Mr. Osborn didn't see me because his head was facing downward, looking at what presume was mail in his hand. Even if he had been looking straight forward, he probably wouldn't have seen me since the room was still dark. He flicked on the first set of lights after shutting the door. When he turned around, I decided to make myself noticed.

"Good morning, Mr. Osborn." I said casually, catching him off guard.

A slight gasp left his mouth as his head shot up in the direction of his desk. After a second, he chuckled awkwardly "You scared me." He said calming down, "Can I help you with something…?" He asked, his eyes squinting briefly, trying to see me through the darkness.

"Yes, as matter of fact you can. That is why I called for a meeting this morning." I said, taking off my fedora, laying it on the desk beside my coat, then ran a hand through my hair so it wouldn't be flat.

A moment later, he flicked on the second set of lights, so now the room was completely full of light.

"Jessica, Jessica Drew?" He said out loud, surprised "Jonathan's daughter?"

"The one and only" I said, sound smug. I knew how Norman Osborn worked and I needed to appear confident in order to get his attention, and possibly respect.

"Wow... You've definitely... um, changed from the last time I saw you." He commented taking off his coat to put it on the coat rack.

"Well, it has been ten years, so it was bound to happen." I commented casually

"Yes, that is true." He said and glanced at the door shortly before saying, "You know, I'm surprised my secretary didn't mention you were already here."

"Oh don't blame her." I said, "She didn't know I was here either." I said, he stared at me for a moment, "I like being early" I added, he nodded.

"I can see that" He said slowly

"And you're late by the way." I added

He chuckled again, "I don't think so. You see our meeting starts at 8 o'clock, and it's-" He lifted his wrist, checking his watch. "... only 7:58, I have two more minutes before it counts as late."

"Correction: you would have 3 minutes. In 2 minutes, it will be 8 and you would have been on time. Now one more minute after that and you would be "late" but I see your point. However, I was still early which means anyone who comes in after me, is considered late in my book." I explained.

He chuckled moving closer to the desk, "You sound like your father, he was always early. I swear some nights; I don't think he even left."

"That's because some nights he didn't." I retorted, "My father was very passionate about his work, it's a quality I admired about him." I stated, and then added "Still do"

"It's a quality we all admired, Miss Drew." He replied casually, "Now, what I can I do for you?" He asked, standing right in front of his desk.

I dropped my feet to the ground, and then turned myself completely straight towards him, and rested my arms on the table for support.

"I've just recently moved back to the city but I remembered a couple years ago, after the death of my parents, there was something mentioned about my father's belongings that were left behind." I started, "I would like to have them back" I added, "If that's not too much trouble, Mr. Osborn."

"Please, call me Norman" He said first, then sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. "You see, over the years, we've used your father's work; to build from and to even improve our own recent projects. It would be a shame for all his hard work to just be taken from us where it could be very helpful."

After his little "speech", I smiled lightly while saying, "So that's no, then?"

"No, no, the work was your father's property, so under his contract, it is indeed yours but might I ask you to consider what you would be doing by taking it away from Oscorp?"

"Enlighten me" I wondered

He stood up, "Your father's work has been a very... profitable over the years." He stated, slowly.

"You mean financially?" I questioned his words.

"No, I mean, educationally." He corrected with serious tone, "Like I said before, your father's research has improved our own and as helped us in the long run."

"You know, what I don't get? I know my dad worked here and I know he was involved in something pretty big before he died... I just don't know what it is." I explained, "Care to tell me?"

I watch Norman sit at the edge of his desk, a foot away from me. "Jonathan, at the time, was working on a new project, and even today we're fixing all the little kinks but your father and some of our best scientist put together an idea that has yet to be mastered today."

"Yet...?" I repeated

"We're one step closer to finishing it." He added

"What is "it", exactly?" I asked, "And please save me the vague remarks."

"Jonathan was working on cross-species genetics." He said, still being vague with answers.

"With...?" I wondered, getting tired of his short answers to my questions.

"Your father, along with Dr. Curt Connors and Richard Parker were trying to mix the DNA of a spider with human DNA at the time." He said, walking around the desk, going to the front.

"Did it work?" I asked acting like I was slightly uninterested because I already knew the answer.

"Unfortunately, no" He said, causing me to furrow my eyebrows. That's not the answer I had in mind. I knew it had to have worked because of how I am today.

"How could you be sure?" I asked

He gave me a small smile before talking, "You know, I'm really not the one that you should be asking these questions too." He said, "How about you talk with Dr. Connors himself, hm...?" He said acting like was helping but I knew he was trying to change the subject.

"When...?" I asked, going along with his little game.

"Well, he's not here today but he'll be in tomorrow, why don't you come back then?" He offered.

"I don't know... Tomorrow's Monday." I stated and when he didn't seem to understand what I meant, I added "I have school on Monday" He then nodded, understanding.

"That's right, for a moment there I would have taught you were out of school. How old are you anyway?" He asked

"17" I replied then added "Why?"

"Well, I was thinking about offering you a position here, or a job, that is." He said, sitting back down in the same chair from before.

"What kind of job?" I asked, showing interest.

"Since your father's passing, his office is still vacant." "After 10 years…?" was the question that popped into my mind. "So maybe, if you were interested, you could work here and replace him."

"No one can replace my dad, not even me." I stated, in which he held his hand up in a surrender mode.

"Yes, of course; I apologize if that is what it sounded like but it's not what I meant." He said, trying to be a smooth talker, I wasn't buying it though. "What I meant was, perhaps, you would like filling in for him. It could do us some good around here."

"Oh?" I said "How do you figure? You don't even know if I'm qualified to work here." I pointed out.

"You have his eyes" He said suddenly

"I'm sorry?" I said, completely caught off guard by the remark.

"Your father, you have his eyes." He restated

"And...?" I said, not sure what his motives were.

"And the look you have in them is the same one your father had. I can see it." He said, "I see the same passion, loyalty, and greatness just waiting to be used."

I half smiled, "You're good, I'll give you that. You'd make one hell of a salesman but I will have to decline." I said standing up, putting my hat back on, picking up my bag and coat. "I hope to receive my father's belongings as soon as possible then" I said, trying to get him to try and make me stay. Right as I headed for the door, he stepped in front of me, stopping me.

"Wait" He said, "How about this?" He started, causing me to sigh. "On Friday, a group of interns from the local high school will be coming for the tour of the lab. Why don't you stop by then?"

"So you went from basically handing me my father's job to wanting me to become an intern?" I said, not sounding pleased.

"Of course not, that offer is still on the table, you just give me the word and it's yours. Plus the tour is just for you to get the feel of the work environment, and see if it's something you want to do." He explained, I glanced around thinking "So, do we have an agreement?" He said, waiting for my answer.

"I need to think about it first" I stated then asked "Can I call you?" I said, he nodded.

"Of course" He said, and then reached over to pick a card from his desk to hand to me. "Just call the number when you make your decision." He said as I took the card, looking at it for a moment before stepping around him to leave. "Oh and Miss Drew…?" He said, causing me to turn around when I reached the door. "... Dr. Connors is a very busy man in his field, your best chance of talking to him is during the tour." He added with a smile but I saw what he was doing. This was his way of trying to make me come back so he could trap me in a job. "So, will you be here?" He asked, and I studied him for a moment. Why was he so eager for me to work here? He has to be up to something.

"Like I said... I'll call you with my decision." I said firmly before walking out, shutting the door behind me. As I walked by the desk, I smiled at Vanessa. "Good morning, Vanessa" I said shortly as I headed to the elevator while she watched me confused, probably wondering where I came from. Since there was no reason to sneak around, I used the elevator this time. When it dinged, I stepped inside, pushed the lobby button and waited patiently while listening to elevator music.

After a minute, the doors opened and I walked out into the lobby. Instead of walking to the back door, where I came from, I decided to go through the front doors, then circled around to get to my car in the alley.

After locking the doors after getting inside my car, I made sure I had everything with me. When I had everything, I felt a bit of relief wash over me. All the way home, I kept thinking about the job and if I should take it or not.

If Mr. Osborn was up to something, did I really want to take the risk of getting caught in his little scheme just for a job?

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

"Jeffery, I'm home!" I yelled, taking my coat off as soon as closed the front door behind me. After hanging the jacket on the coat rack, I walked through the foyer. "Jeffery...?" I called and when I got no respond, I walked upstairs. "Jeffery" I called, then sighed when I reached the hallway.

"Yes, Madam...?" I swung around hearing his voice; he had clearly just walked in the room because he wasn't there a second ago. I held my hand to my chest briefly, taking a breath.

"Karma's a bitch" I said thinking about how I scared Norman, Jeffery seemed abashed by my comment so I added, "You scared me".

"My apologizes" He said, "How was your day?" He asked.

I groaned, "Where do I start?" I asked out loud as I walked to my room. I took off my hat and laid it on my dresser, "I snuck into Oscorp and found something very interesting hidden in Norman Osborn's desk drawer, which was locked by the way." I said, as he stood sat down on the end of my bed while I took my jewelry off, walking into my closet to put them away, along with my boots.

"Is there any more laws that you have broken this morning?" He asked

I popped my head out, "Did I mention I might have planted a few voice recorders and mini cameras in his office?" I asked, and instantly he gave me a look. The look of a parent, the one where there ashamed but because it was me, he wasn't all that surprised. "I need to keep an eye on him" I added while walking back into my room, heading to my dresser. "He knows something and I need to find out what it is and if it's connected."

"Connected to what?" Jeffery asked

"That interesting thing I found, it was an old file dated back from when my dad was working there." I said pull out some pajamas to wear around the house, since I was going anywhere else today, might as well be comfortable. "The thing that's stuck in my mind is the fact that the files dates end a couple days before my parents were murdered." I looked back at him, "It has to be connected right?" I asked and headed back to the bathroom.

"Jessica" I heard him say but I continued on.

"And the file was about what my dad was working on which apparently was cross-genetics" I told him while I changed into my clothes. "Cross-genetics, Jeffery" I repeated, "And you want to guess what kind of species they were using?" I asked

"Spiders" We both said at the same time.

I pulled off my jeans and slipped on my pajama shorts the switch my dress top for a lose tank top. I grabbed a big hair clippie and put my hair up like I would for a pony tail but instead I used a clip to hold my hair up, off my shoulders.

"So I was thinking..." I continued on walking into my room. "Norman said that the project basically failed, but what about me?" I asked out loud, "They were mixing spider and human DNA, and all their subjects died. But I didn't. How did that happen?" I said, "What did my dad do different than the other scientists? I mean he had to be onto something, right?" I asked Jeffery as I sat down next to him.

He looked at me worried, "Madam, are you alright?" He asked, my guess what he noticed how my hands were shaking slightly. I wasn't nerves or anything; I just had several ideas in my head which result in me acting as if I had two gallons of sugar.

"I'm fine." I responded, he nodded and patted my hand comfortably before standing up to leave.

"Norman Osborn offered me dad's old job." I blurted out, getting it off my chest.

Jeffery stopped and turned back towards me, "He did…?" He asked

"Yeah, but I declined." I said

"What? Why would you do that?" He asked walking back to sit down next to me again.

"The same reason I took my old room and not the master suite, like you suggested." I said, "It's not my place, Jeffery." I told him.

"It's not his either, not anymore." Jeffery stated

"Yes, it is." I retorted

"No, it's not and it hasn't been for some time now." He said then added, "I think you should take the job."

"What? Why?" I asked, surprised by his words.

"Why not...? You want answers right?" I nodded so he continued, "What better place to learn more about your father and what he was working on, than where he was working?" He said

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I said after processing his words.

"Of course I am." He said confidently making me roll my eyes playfully.

Inhaling deeply, I said "I guess I better call Mr. Osborn and tell him I'll take the job." He nodded with a smile, proud of my decision. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked softly

"As long as you can juggle school work, I think it's a wonderful idea." He stated, so I smiled.

"Okay, well thanks" I said

"Are you hungry?" He asked suddenly, causing me to lightly chuckle.

"Yes, in fact, I'm starving" I said rubbing my stomach, "I haven't eaten all morning."

"I'll make you some breakfast then." He said and left my room. I smiled and walked over to my purse (which I had practically thrown on the floor) and pulled out my cell phone along with Mr. Osborn's card.

After dialing his number, I listened to the phone ring twice before it was answered. "Norman Osborn." He answered. I was surprised it was actually him who answered and not his secretary.

"I'll take the job" I said not even bothering to announce myself, "But under one condition" I added quickly.

"Name it" He replied back into the phone.

I exhaled before saying, "I want full access to all my dad's files; including old/recent/opened and closed, and along with anything else he was involved in while working at Oscorp."

There was a short moment of silence before he spoke, "Deal." He agreed, "Why don't you come by Friday, take the tour and we can talk more then?" He offered

"Fine" I said with a tired sigh before adding, "See you Friday"

"Goodbye, Miss Drew" He said and by his tone, he sounded somewhat pleased with himself.

After hanging up, I threw my phone onto my bed and stood there for a moment. I sighed heavily, not sure if I made the right choice. I mean, deep down, I wanted this job. I felt like I would be closer to my dad if I did but a part of me worried that something going wrong. I know my parent's deaths had something to do with Oscorp. And the closer Norman gets to me, the closer he might get to finding out my secret. Who knows what he'll do if he finds out my dad's serum actually worked? More specifically, what if he knew it worked on me?

ѫ Ѫ ѫ


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I am still editing this chapter so there might be a few little errors here and here, but just ignore them please. Thank you and enjoy the story :)**

* * *

**Untangling the Web**

**Chapter Three**

The sound of my alarm clock made me groan in my sleep, it was just one of those mornings I didn't want to wake up. As the sound continued, the ringing seemed to get louder and as reflex, I reached over, going for the snooze button with my eyes closed. Instead of hearing silence, like I hoped, my head shot up after hearing the sound of the plastic being broken. Through my sleeping eyes, I stared at my alarm clock. "Damn it" I muttered, seeing it completely shattered. "He's gonna kill me." I said to myself referring to Jeffery. This had to be the... 20th time I've broken my alarm clock... this year?

Quickly, I crawled out of bed, grabbing the small trash can from under my desk and slid what was left of the clock into the trash and all the little shavings that had fell to the floor. I glanced at the door when I heard a knock before casually pushing the trash can back under the desk and walked to the door to open it.

"Come in" I said running a hand through my bed hair.

A second later, "Madam Drew, are you alright?"

I furrowed my eyebrows at him, "What do you mean?" I asked

"I heard... a noise?" Jeffery said glancing around the room, like he wasn't sure. "I thought you were in trouble"

"No, Jeffery, no trouble. And if I was, I can handle myself." I stated, crossing my arms over my chest stubbornly.

"Of course, but I still worry" He said, and I gave him a small smile. After he glanced around the room once more, he looked to me. "Madam Drew" He said sternly, "You are not dressed yet?" He said referring to my old shoulder purple t-shirt and cut off pajama shorts. "You have less than-" He glanced over at my night stand expecting to see my clock but when he didn't, he furrowed his eyebrows and looked towards me. "Where's your alarm clock...?"

"What alarm clock?" I asked a little too quickly, causing him to look suspiciously at me.

"Did you break another clock?" He added, and I acted shocked and hurt.

I gasped, "No!" I said defensively, "And the fact that you would say that is just... is just..." I paused, trying to find the word. "It's rude, okay? It just rude" I said, sounding like a two year old while re-crossing my arms.

Jeffery sighed, "My apologizes, Madam." He said trying to make me feel better but he still knew I was lying. But after all, he was raised to be well mannered to the people he worked for so he would let it go, of course. "Well, I believe it is around 6:05, you have less than an hour and a half to get ready, so get dressed." He said then walked out, closing the door behind. Walking over to my nightstand, I checked the time. It was indeed 6:05, so I did have a very short time to get ready.

Hurrying over to my closet, I had to pick something that would look good for school and work plus make a statement. I smiled when I found all the items of clothing I needed. Laying them on my bed, plus my accessories, then went into my bathroom, turned on the shower and started to brush my teeth while the water got hot.

After rinsing out the mouth wash, I used my hand to test the water, when I felt it was hot enough and not to burn skin, I stripped down and got in. I used my Vanilla body wash/shampoo, soaking my body and hair so it would sink into my pores, giving me an intoxicating aroma.

As I washed down, my eyes caught sight of the scar of my side. It was five scars really but it all came from one person at one time. Four of the scars were next to either, equally spaced, and the fifth was right below, leaving the mark of how his claws pierced my skin. Touching the one of the scars, triggered the memory. I could see a flash of his black hand reaching out, grabbing me. The sound I made when his nails cut my flesh open echoed in my ears, I could literally hear and feel the pain as if it were happening again. The sound of me crying out then, made me angry now. I had shown him weakness... which was exactly what he had wanted.

As soon as I felt myself reliving the memory and the more anger that built up, I knew I needed to let it go. But it killed me knowing that he had that advantage over me and how he had left his mark.

Knocking me into reality, I heard voice yell into my room, "One hour!" I rolled my eyes at Jeffery's voice and turned off the water, stepping out and wrapped a towel around my body. I headed over to the fogged out mirror and used my hand to rubbed part of the mirror, to get a clear view of me. I stared at myself for a minute, taking in a deep breath. My eyes were slightly red by getting worked up from the memory, even if it was briefly. I took in another breath, holding my head high. I wasn't going to let the past interfere with today.

I forced a smile, preparing the warm expression I should give people. After all, I needed to make a good expression for my first day of junior year at my new high school.

'Today is going to be good day.' I thought then repeated it aloud "Today is going to be a good day." Exhaling a heavy sigh, I walked out of my room and began to get ready.

I slipped on a set of black lingerie, then pulled on the clear pantyhose up each leg and I admired them for a second, loving the design. The pantyhose may have been clear but there was a straight line of black spiders up each leg (front and back), it wasn't tacky or anything, just very creative. Next, I pulled on a leather pleated skirt and zipped it from behind then threw on the dark blue cashmere V-neck sweater that had a small silk opening over my lower back. Now that I was finished putting my main clothes on, I went back into the bathroom, and began to blow dry my hair. I began to debate whether I should curl or straighten my hair. After staring at my curly iron for two minutes, I decided to curl my hair. I was going to be wearing a beanie today and figured it would be cuter if my hair was lightly curled. Plugging in my iron, I walked back into my room and began gathering my things for school. I pulled out a black backpack from Victorian's Secret, and then took personal items from the bag I used yesterday and stuck them into a some bag which included my makeup bag and placed them inside the bag with a notebook, a pen then after snapping my iPad into its case, I slipped it into the bag as well. Leaving the bag on the bed, I walked into my closet picking out a pair of black 'Hero' leather boots that went half way up to my knees.

As I walked back into the bathroom, I began to curl my hair just like I did the day before. This took me about five minutes to make sure all my hair was curled; I then unplugged my iron and turned off the light in the bathroom. I began to put on the jewelry I had picked out for today. I had chosen a silver web cuff with a matching color spider on it, a two-set ring with a tiny spider connecting each ring together then a 'Steampunk' style lapis lazuli ring. As I opened my jewelry box, I spotted a necklace that went perfect with my outfit. It was a Jamie Kole and Herkimer's "Light Within" pendant necklace and I was glad that I was finally wearing it. All I needed was earrings and I had the perfect pair. Jeffery wouldn't like the fact that I would be wearing them in public but they would be so cute with my outfit. Reaching into one my drawers, I pulled out a black metal container. I opened the lid and reached in pulling out the earring, lifting into the light to examine it. They used to be a pair of 'fake' web wrapped white Topaz earrings but because I hated the fake part, I decide to get crafty with them. I had clipped off the plastic web then placed the earrings, on a string in the air, and let some of the little spiders I owned web the earrings for real. I kept the beads from the original webbing and replaced them on the earrings about a month ago. I looked in the mirror as I placed each earring into my ear hole then examined them closer, watching the three little spiders, on each earring, move around then hold still on the earrings. I smiled thinking about how cool that was and how crazy it should seem to me.

"Thirty minutes, Madam" I heard Jeffery say on the other side of my door.

"I'm almost done" I replied, walking into my closet.

Grabbing my collarless leather jacket and Navy cable knit beanie, I walked down stairs and into the kitchen. I smiled and licked my lips when I heard the sound of bacon sizzling. I moaned when the smell of bacon entered my nose, "Man that smells good." I said to Jeffery as I sat down on one of the bar stools.

"Yes and it's a shame you won't be able to have a proper breakfast at home, since you will be late if you don't leave now." I rolled my eyes. "Don't roll your eyes at me, I can hear them spinning." He said, and I squinted my eyes at him carefully. Sometimes I thought he had spider senses himself or at least he has a pair of eyes on the back of his head.

"There's nothing wrong with being a _little_ bit late" I said and that was a lie. I hated being late to be honest, but I didn't feel like rushing, at least not today. Jeffery gave me a side glance. "Okay, fine." I said holding my hands up, "I'll eat on the way over there."

"No eating while driving, it's a risk."

"Oh come on!" I said, "What's the worst that could happen?" He gave me another glance in which I responded by groaning. "Fine" I said sternly and hopped off the stool and right as I walked by the counter, I reached over and snatched a piece of cooked bacon from the plate and took off before Jeffery could say another word.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

While driving, I turned on Pandora and searched for music. The song that I stopped on was "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne and as I sang along to the words, my nerves began to settle, making me ready to attend school.

The song ended as I pulled up to the school, parking next to the sidewalk in front of the school. As I turned off my car, grabbing my things and stepping out, with sunglasses on, I looked at the school.

"Midtown Science High School...?" I read out loud to myself with an arched eyebrow. "Okay" I muttered shrugging my shoulder before throwing my backpack on one shoulder then locking my car. When I reached the sidewalk, I noticed all the students in the front lawn were staring at me. Ignoring them, I walked towards the entrance. I couldn't help the small smirk on my face when I heard a few wolf whistles but I kept walking since I could feel all the girl's glares. I never understood teenage girls; they always hated me because _their _boyfriends stare at me or because they were jealous of my clothes. I, for one, couldn't care less what people thought of me, especially if they didn't like me for such stupid reasons.

As soon as I entered the school building, I walked down the hallway to the sign that said "OFFICE" and immediately opened the door. Voices filled my ears as soon as I opened the door, I looked in seeing a woman sitting at a desk, typing away on the computer while a male voice, in another room, talked on and on. He sounded frustrated so I decide it would be best to quickly grab my papers leave.

"Hi" I said approaching the desk, the woman stopped typing and looked my way, giving me a smile.

"Good morning, how can I help you?" She said

"I just moved here so it's my first day and I need my schedule." I said, she nodded

"Oh, are you the new transfer student from England?" She asked, I nodded, "What's your name again, sweetie?" She asked, turning to her computer.

"Jessica Drew"

She typed in my name quickly, "Here you are." She said, "It'll just be one moment" A few seconds later, the printer started to beep before papers began to print. She took the papers, tapped them against the desk to straighten them out and then stapled the tops together. She handed me the papers with a smile, "All set" She said then stood up leaning over to point at the papers. "Right here is your locker number, the code and down here is your schedule for this semester"

I gave her a warm smile, "Thanks so much." And when I did, I heard someone basically yell in the next room, and then the door was jerked open and a very anger man walked out of the office. After the anger man, a woman stepped outside the office.

"Good morning, Ella." She said to the woman at the desk then looked to me. "Who is this?" She asked

"This is the new transfer, Jessica Drew."

"Oh" The woman said and walked towards me, extending her hand. "My name is Andrea Simons, but you will refer to me as Principal Simons." She said and even though she sounded stern, I knew she was still nice.

"Yes ma'am, will do" I said with a smile, she returned it before glancing at her watch.

"Welcome to Midtown Science High School" She said

I wanted to ask about the name of the school but I decided to let it go. "Thank you" I said.

"Well, you better get going; first period starts in about..." She glanced down at her watch, "Two minutes."

"Oh, right. Thanks." I said then began walking out the door but stopped when I heard her speak again.

"I look forward to having you hear, Miss Drew, I expect great things." I just smiled and walked away.

_'Just what I needed to hear'_ I thought, _'... someone who wants something from me'_ It's not that it would be hard, I'm a great student, always have been but I hate when people make goals for me.

Bringing me from my thoughts, I felt someone bumped into me from what I thought was an accident until I realized we were the only two in the hallway. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there." He said, flashing me a smile. By the tone he used, I knew he did it on purpose.

"It's okay." I said and tried to pass him but he cut me off.

"I'm Flash by the way." He said holding his hand out, and just out of respect I shook it.

"Nice to meet you" Then moved again, trying to leave but he blocked me.

"You know I haven't seen you around before, you new?"

I sighed, knowing he just wasn't going to let me go just yet. "Yeah" I said bluntly. "Can you move please? I have to get to class." I said while attempting to get away from him.

"Wouldn't you rather stay here with me?" He asked, with another 'charming' smile. I took in his appearance for a moment. He was tall, blonde hair styled with a buzz cut and well fitted, with a charming smile and nice eyes. Now, what girl wouldn't be attracted to him?

"Not really" I replied remembering I was the girl who was attracted to him. "I prefer class" I added trying to walking around him again but he stopped me. "Okay, you have got to stop doing that." I said then attempted again, failing instantly. "Alright, what's it going to take to get you move?"

"Go out with me" He said

"What?" I said, thinking he was kidding, "You just met me and you want me to go on a date with you?"

"It's the only way I'll move." He said.

I then commented sarcastically, "It's good to know you're committed". With a sigh and a small eye roll, I caved. "Okay, fine. When and where?"

"How about after school, we can get a cup of coffee?" He offered

I forced a nod, "Sure"

He gave me one more smile before stepping aside, motioning his hand out for me to walk on. I rolled my eyes again and walked off with a small chuckle, humoring him. As I walked down the hall, I heard him yell at me.

"Wait, I didn't get your name!" He said

"That's because I didn't give it to you" I said without even looking back at him as I rounded the corner of the hall. There was no way I was going out with him; I would just have to come up with some excuse later.

When I found my locker, I checked to see if the code was right and as soon as I opened it then closed it; the bell went off signaling first period was starting. I laid my head against the wall muttering, when I realized that I was officially late.

Using my phone as a mirror, I checked my hair and makeup, making sure everything looked good. Feeling satisfied, I looked to my schedule for the class number and teacher's name. I had Italian in room 415 and it happened to be right down the hall of where I was standing.

As I approached the door, I took a deep breath and opened the door.

Walking into the room, the teacher stopped talking and all the student's eyes were on me. I always hated this part of coming to a new school.

"Can I help you?" The teacher asked.

"Yes, I'm new here." I said walking towards him.

"Name" He said bluntly

"Jessica Drew"

"Your late" He said continuing his writing on the board. I glanced back at the class; most of the students had return to their books, while the rest continue to stare at me.

"Yes sir, I know. I'm sorry-" I started but he cut me off.

"No excuses" He said strictly, "Just don't let it happen again, Miss Drew, now take a seat." I just nodded, not saying another word, and walked towards the desks, sitting in an empty one towards the back.

"Now students, let's begin." He said finishing writing on the board and turned to the students.

I sighed, glancing around the room, hoping that today would only get better from here.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

By 11-ish, I was heading to Advanced Biology (my fourth period) and as I entered the open door, Ipumped into someone this time. Right as I went to say 'Sorry', I mentally groaned. "Oh, god" I muttered seeing Bolt or whatever his name was. "Not you" I said as I began walking into the room.

"Good to see you too" He said, "You know, you still haven't given me your name." He said to me as I sat down in my seat.

"And I'm _still_ not going to." I replied as I pulled out my notebook, getting ready for class. I watched, from the corner of my eye, as he tried to sit next to me but I placed my bag on the available sit, as a sign for him to find another seat. He got my hint and sat at the table behind me.

As I waited, I pulled out my iPad and began checking my email, just something to do before the bell rang. I was just checking up on the cameras I had install in Norman's office. He was just sitting in his office, on the computer.

The sound of the bell ringing made me click off the screen and slip the iPad back into my backpack. The teacher stood from his chair and leaned against the front of his desk, holding a single sheet of paper. He checked his watch before speaking, "We'll wait to call attendance after the second bell." He stated and that's what we did. Just wait.

When another student entered the room as the bell rang, he asked her to shut the door. After she did, she walked over to where I was sitting, "Do you mind if I sit here?" She asked pointing to the seat next to me, the one with my bag.

I shook my head, "No, not at all" I said moving my bag to the floor. I half smiled when I heard Flash scoff, I knew it had to be about the whole seat thing.

"Alright, now let's begin." The teacher said, lifting the sheet of paper, reading it through his glasses. "Mark Anders" He read out loud, starting from the top of the list, going Alphabet style apparently.

"I'm Gwen, by the way" The blonde girl said extending her hand, and I shook it.

"Jessica" I whispered right when I saw Flash leaned in closer, trying to hear our conversation. Gwen furrowed her eyebrows at my whisper, "He wants to know my name and I won't tell him" I said nodding towards the blonde player behind us.

She just laughed with a nod, saying "Okay"

The teacher was near my name when suddenly the door was opened and the teacher stopped calling out names. A boy walked in and immediately I found myself watching him closely. I did something I've never done before. I actually checked him out. He was no jock but that's what I liked about him already.

For a moment, I studied his clothing. He seem to be wearing a brown long sleeve undershirt and a plain blue t-shirt over it, an open blue hoodie with an army style dark green jacket over that, a pair of normal blue jeans and Nike dunks. And since he has skater shoes, my guess is he has a skateboard as well.

He looked like he had been running all the way here, and what I found amusing was the teacher was not surprise by his tardiness.

"Peter, your late _again_, take a seat." He said calmly, unlike my first period teacher. Peter nodded at him then walked towards one of the tables with his head down. When he sat down, putting his bag on the floor, I noticed the skateboard then saw his camera. He had a Nikon Fm, kind oldish looking but they were good cameras.

"Nice camera" I commented casually to him, he looked over at me with a surprised looked, like he was shocked I was talking to him.

"Thanks" He said with a nervous smile, I wanted to talk to him more but Gwen nudged me, drawing my attention back to the teacher.

"Jessica Drew" He said out loud looking around the room, I raised my hand slightly so he could see me and he nodded marking the paper and moved on.

After a few seconds, I heard someone 'Psst' me. I turned my head slightly to the side, giving my attention to Flash. "What?" I snapped

"I know your name" He said in a mocking tone, I just rolled my eyes.

"What do you want a treat, or something?" I asked, giving him an attitude and I could have sworn I heard 'Peter' chuckled quietly.

As I looked towards the board, ignoring him, I heard the teacher say, "Peter Parker"

"Here" Peter said to the teacher causing me to look at him. Parker...?

"Your last name is Parker?" I asked him quietly, not wanting the teacher to hear me.

He nodded, "Yeah, why?" He said back quietly with a confusion look.

I wanted to ask if he knew Richard Parker but I just shook my head saying "No reason" and turned to the board. From the corner of my eye, I could see him stare at me for a moment before looking back to the table, keeping his head down again.

"Gwen Stacy" The teacher said, she raised her had signaling she was here so he continued. "Eugene Thompson." I heard Flash sighed and said 'Here', I had to bit my tongue to keep from laughing. I know it would be immature but to have the name Eugene, in this generation, is something to laugh about.

After name call, the teacher laid down the paper and turned to us. "Now, that everyone is hear, let's begin." He said, "Since we have a new student, I'll start by saying my name is Mr. Raymond Warren." He wrote it on the board for I'm guessing is me, since I think I was the only new student here. "Today we will be talking about the History of Cells, more specially human cells. I know most of you already know about them, and think you know everything about them but we still will be reviewing so, pull out a notebook, pen or pencil because all of you will be taking notes." A few groans filled the room from being students displeased with their assessment. I pulled out my notebook and pen, and begin to take notes.

I felt eyes on me but when I glanced over at Peter, I saw him quickly look to his notebook. I smiled lightly to myself and at that moment I felt something... Something I had never felt before.

I think I was having what other people would refer to as "Butterflies" in my stomach. And the weirdest thing was I kind of liked it.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

After Biology class, Gwen and I decide to sit together in the school yard and eat lunch. I wasn't all that hungry so I just nibbled on an apple that I had brought from the cafeteria while waiting for Gwen to come outside with her lunch.

I was sitting by myself on top of a table that was further away from everyone else. I didn't want to be with the big groups of people, mainly because I didn't want to somehow become the center of attention and I liked the peace and quiet. As I sat there, I could have sworn I felt someone watching me but when I glanced around, no one was looking in my direction. Shrugging off the feeling, I took a bit out of my apple right as Gwen approached. I had only known her for less than an hour and we had already hit it off. We had a lot in common, especially when it came to school. She told me she was one of the top students in the school, and I humored her by commenting, "Until now" and sticking out my tongue. We both laughed and started talking about random things.

Gwen phone began to ring pausing our conversation, so while she talked into the phone I just looked around the yard, staring at all the students. Without making direct eye contact with any of them, I listened to them speak.

_"So have you seen the new girl yet?"_ I heard a girl say to someone, across the yard.

_"Yeah, she's a total loner"_ The girl responded and I moved on to other conversations.

_"Did you hear what happen to her aunt and uncle?"_ Someone said, and I knew they were talking about me because the girl spoke glanced at me while she said it. "I heard they were murdered... just like her parents." When that girl said that, she gave a dark chuckle towards the end like it was a joke. I felt blood pressure rise slightly as my eyes locked onto the girl. _"Maybe she killed them."_ The bleach blonde joked. _"She looks like a psycho."_

Taking me from the conversation, I felt someone touch my shoulder, my head immediately snapped towards Gwen. "What?" I said

"Are you okay?" She asked worried

"Yeah, why...?" I asked and instead of speaking, she glanced down at my hands. I followed her gaze and realized that I was squeezing my hands into fists so tight that they were turning light red. I automatically stopped; my hands instantly went back to their natural color. "Oh, my bad" I said with an embarrassed chuckled.

"So are you okay?" I nodded

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had a lot of my mind, but I'm good now." I said giving her a reassuring smile. She nodded slowly, letting it go.

As I took a deep breath, my eyebrows furrowed when I heard the sound of a camera clicking, like it was taking photos. I followed the sound and looked to my left, seeing a boy at least 30 feet away, holding a camera to his face, in my direction, and no doubt taking my pictures.

As soon as I looked at him, noticing who it was, I waved with a sweet smile. He took the camera from his face and gave me a nervous smile in return. I could tell he was embarrassed from being busted, but I didn't mind. Ruining our little moment, I heard students chanting.

"Eat it! Eat it!" The students that had rounded up in a circle were saying. Gwen and I looked to each other before getting up and walking around to the crowd, I could see Peter do the same. Gwen and I pushed our way to the front and I saw what everyone was cheering on about.

Flash had lifted a kid in the air, holding him upside down and was shoving the kid's face into his lunch. "Come on, Gordon. Eat your vegetables!" Flash demanded while I stared in disgust at the scene. I felt pity for the poor kid. My emotions then switch to anger at Flash, I always hated bullies. Right when I was going to say something, Flash spoke. "Hey Parker, come on, get a picture of this!" He said, thinking this whole deal was funny. Peter just shook his head, "Get the picture, Parker, come on!" Flash said, a little more aggravated that Peter was shaking his head.

"I'm not gonna take a picture of this. Just put him down, man" Peter said, trying to get Flash to listen but of course Flash didn't stop. I watched Peter look to the kid, while everyone around them kept shouting "Eat it". "Gordon, don't eat it. Don't eat it, man" Peter told him and I admired his attempt but I knew this wasn't going to end well.

"Take the picture, Parker!" Flash said, making it sound like an order.

"Put him down, Flash" Peter said, still not giving into Flash's commands.

"Take a picture." Flash said

"Put him down!" Peter shouted then added, "Eugene!" causing other students to laugh at his name.

I briefly closed my eyes, knowing that was a mistake.

Flash, looking pretty pissed, throws the kid to the ground. As soon as Peter took a step forward to help the kid, Flash punched him in the face, Peter instantly hit the ground, "Come on! Get up, Parker!" Flash said to him, Peter tried to punch Flash but failed when Flash punches him in the stomach. I turned my head away slightly with a grimace hearing Peter groaned in pain. "Get up! Come on! Come on!" Flash said then kicked Peter in the stomach and at that time I knew this needed to end.

"I'm still not taking the picture." Peter said to Flash, in almost a mumble as he lay on the ground and slightly tried to push himself up.

"Stay down, Parker!" Flash yelled.

"We should do something" I said to Gwen and she nodded almost immediately, we both walked over at the time Flash had turned to the crowed shouting like he was the champion.

"Who wants some more? Huh? Huh?" He said to the crowed and I couldn't have hated him anymore than now.

"Flash!" Gwen said approaching himright ashe turned, and his angry face faded when he saw us. "Flash, are we still on for after school today? My house, three thirty...? I hope you've been doing your homework. Last time I was very disappointed in you." Gwen said, and I had to keep from snickering. The big bad bully needed tutoring.

"Okay listen..." He started but I stopped him.

"No, Flash, how about we just go to class, hmm? How about that...?" I said with a defensive tone giving him a glare.

"Whatever" He said slightly annoyed before walking off. Since the fight was over, everyone started walking off, even Gwen after she said she would talk to me later.

I looked to Peter, who was slowly pulling himself from the ground. I could tell he was basically struggling to pick himself up. He looked at me when he noticed that I hadn't left.

"You okay?" I asked, already knowing that he wasn't. He just nodded, giving me a forced, weak smile. I just nodded; he clearly didn't want any help so I wouldn't then. I just walked away, heading towards the building.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

As I sat in my Calculus class, I couldn't help but glance back at Peter. He was basically laying his head on the table, hoodie pull over. Glancing at the teacher to make sure he wasn't watching, I turned to Peter.

"I thought that was reallygreat, what you did back there." I whispered, he looked up at me. "It was stupid, of course but it was great." I added, giving him a small smile. He chuckled lightly with a nod, "You should probably go to the nurse, you might have a concussion." I stated then asked "What's your name?"

"You don't know my name?" He said with his eyebrows furrowed

I smiled, "No, I know your name. I just want to know if _you_ know your name." I pointed out; this was my way of checking to see, if he had a concussion, how bad it was.

"Peter" He said, I gave him a look of waiting and for a secondI worried he couldn't remember his last name. After another second past, he seemed to catch on, "Parker. Peter Parker" He suddenly finished with another awkward chuckle.

"Okay, good." I said with a small giggle and another smile, turning away. I could feel him still staring at me so I glanced at him saying, "I'd still go to the nurse though"

"You're Jessica, right?" He asked and I got a knot in my stomach from just him saying my name.

I gave him my smile and nodded "Jessica Drew" I said

He nodded with a small, curious smile. "All right" He said and I just turned back to the board when I felt my cheeks burn slightly. I didn't want him to see me blushing, mainly because I was slightly embarrassed this time. I bit my lip nervously, as I felt his eyes on me again. I could literally see him in my peripheral vision, giving me a longing stare as if he was in deep thought about something.

I smiled to myself at the idea of him thinking about me... which of course was only a possibility.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ


	4. Chapter 4

**Untangling the Web**

**Chapter Four **

This morning, my nerves were all over the place. One minute I was nervous and then completely fine in the next. I truly felt sympathy for Jeffery for having to tolerate me when I was like this.

Ready for another day of school and work at Oscorp too but what I was so nervous about was running into Peter. I could feel butterflies start fluttering in my stomach, against my will, and no matter what, I couldn't get them to stop. No boy had ever made me feel so self-conscious before, or had ever caught my attention like he did.

As I had been explained before at my old school; girls like me, the "pretty girls", normally go for the guys who play sports or are popular. Like Flash for instance. But I couldn't stand Flash. Sure, he was good-looking, I guess, but he just wasn't _my_ type. I may qualify as "pretty" on some kind of level but I don't date a popular guy just because it's how the high school's "food chain" works. Even yesterday while talking to Gwen, she told me that the most popular girls date the most popular guys and that's just how it works. I disagreed though.

I had looked up Peter Parker's school record the morning after meeting him. I knew I shouldn't because that would be betraying his privacy but it was just his school record, it wasn't like I checking out his medical record, or anything.

As I had thought, Peter Parker was the best in his class; he majored in Biology, like me. The only thing that seemed to be a problem with Peter was his tardiness and I had experienced that first hand on the first day school.

When I got home after that first day of school, a week ago, I did some research. I thought about the name "Parker" and remembered the guy from the photo with my dad, was named "Richard Parker". I knew it was a coincidence so I searched the name "Richard Parker" along with Oscorp and found a news report. Reading over it, I found that my hope of talking to this man was shattered. The title of the article read "Plane Crash Kills: Richard and Mary Parker". Just from the title, I had assumed Mary was Richard's wife and after reading over the article, it was confirmed.

Thinking about how close their deaths were to my parent's, I started to go back on the theory I had when I was younger. My parent's death wasn't just some "house-robbery-gone-wrong", like the police told me. Even as a child, I knew there was something off about what the police explained to me about what happened that night. In house robberies, something is always stolen; I mean that is the point after all, right? But nothing was stolen from our house that night. The only thing that was robbed that night from me was my parents.

My face tensed thinking about what happened to my parents but I refused to relive it. I wasn't ready to face all those emotions, especially not today.

I had continued searching for information on Richard Parker throughout the week and discovered that Peter was, in fact, his son. I felt bad for him, knowing what it feels like to grow up without parents and I'm hundred percent sure that he had questions like I did.

"Madam, you're going to be late for school" Jeffery said after tapping on my closed door, without entering.

I checked my watch, groaning at the fact that he was right.

After quickly closing my laptop, grabbing my bag and opened the door to find Jeffery still on the other side.

He followed my down the stairs and asked "So are you going to try out for any activities for school?"

I slowed my pace, "Um... I hadn't really thought about it." I said with hesitate

"Perhaps cheerleading could be an idea?" He offered, I stopped in my tracks and just gave him a look. "Perhaps not" He replied, realizing that my answer was no. As I continue walking, he added "Gymnastics, maybe...?"

I thought about it for a moment, "Not as bad as your first idea but I don't think so, Jeffery. I don't know if it's me." I said

"It's something a normal teenage girl would do."

"Well, I'm not a "normal" teenage girl, I'm _me_. Besides, I don't want to draw attention to myself. You know what happened the last time I joined a physical activity at school. It didn't end well."

"It could have happened to anyone." He stated

"No, Jeffery, it happened to _me_. It was my fault anyway, I should have known better. Sports and I don't mix well, not in public that is." I said.

"But you have such a great talent for gymnastics; you won so many metals when you were little." He added trying to change my mind but it wasn't working.

"It's not happening, Jeffery" I said and then before he could respond, I added "End of discussion" I gave him a sympathetic smile because I didn't want him to think I was being harsh. After waving bye to him, I walked out the door and headed to my car.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

As I sat in Biology, I pulled my tablet from my purse and clicked it on. I immediately went to my security camera app, and after entering my password, I access the live feed from Mr. Osborn's office. As I watched him at his desks, I watched his movements. He didn't look well, so I used my fingers to in large the screen and right at the same time, I saw Mr. Osborn start coughing. And it wasn't your normal "itch-in-the-back-of-the-throat" or flu cough; this seemed like more than that. _Good thing I put my iPad on mute_. I watched him as he stayed in a bent position for a while (after the coughing series) before reaching into drawer and taking out a medicine bottle. After popping a couple pills, he straightens himself up and continued his computer work, like nothing had just happened. Since he left the medicine bottle on the desk, I was able to freeze the footage and zoom in to try and get a better look at what he was taking. When I got a clear view of the prescription name, I let the name sink into my brain but I couldn't think of what it was for. Before I could do more research, I felt a presence appear next to me. Literally, next to me since his face was literally an inch from mine.

"Videotaping a guy… kinky" He said (basically) in my ear, with an amused voice.

"It's not like that" I said defensively, exiting off the screen before turning my iPad off.

"Hey, I'm not judging you." He said holding up his hands, mocking me, as he straighten himself up before adding with a smirk, "It's actually kind of hot."

"Did you need something, Eugene?" I snapped using his first name while glaring up at him from my seat.

Before answering my question, he sat down in the seat next to me. "Well, actually…" He started, with his voice slightly more serious. "I've meeting to talk to you about what happened Monday." He said and I thought about it for a minute. _What happened Monday…?_

I began to lightly shake my head, "What happened Monday?" I asked

"Really…? You don't remember forgetting something?" He asked

"Flash, I have an eidetic memory but I don't remember forgetting anything on Monday." I stated

"Our date…?" He started, "We were going to get coffee, remember?"

"Oh, I didn't forget that, I just didn't go." I said honestly, turning towards the desk to get out my notebook.

"Why not…?" He asked, confused.

"Are you being serious, right now?" I said, stopping what I was doing to look at him face to face. "You actually thought I would go on a date with you after that stunt you pulled out in the courtyard?"

"What, that little thing with Parker?" He said with a chuckle, as if it were a joke. I literally couldn't believe this guy. I could feel anger rise inside me but I remembered that I was in public, and I needed to calm down so I didn't make a scene.

"This isn't about_ Peter_" I said stressing his first name, instead of Flash's nickname for him.

"Then what's it about…?" He asked

"You really don't get it, do you?" I asked, and then when he still seemed puzzled, I added "You're a bully, Flash." I stated causing his jaw to tighten. "I don't like bullies and I _definitely _don't date them. So please, just do me a favor, and leave me alone." I had a pretty stern expression on my face after saying that, and by my tone, it was clear that I meant every word too.

Flash was going to say something but his eyes drifted past me and after checking my peripheral vision, I could see Gwen staring at both of us, with a curious but worried expression.

"Am I interrupting something?" She asked softly

"No, we're done" I said, and I wasn't just talking about our current conversation before turning away from Flash and facing the front of the class. Flash quickly stood up, clearly irritated, and all but stomped to his seat. I said nothing to Gwen as she sat down, placing her bag on the floor, underneath the desk.

She didn't speak at first but after a minute she said "So, that seemed pretty heated. Anything you want to talk about?" I knew she was trying to be a good "friend", since I guess that's what we were but I just didn't want to talk about it.

"Why would there be anything to talk about?" I asked, bluntly. When she gave me a look that told me she didn't believe me, I shrugged shoulders, adding "It's nothing Gwen, don't worry about it." I said honestly.

She gave me half a smile, clearly not believing me but what else was there to say? It's not like I "broke up" with Flash; I just can't stand bullies and it irritates me to just be around them. Plus, the way he just laughed off what he did to Peter like it was some kind of joke, it made my skin crawl. Brushing off those feelings, I looked forward at the board and waited for class to start.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

As I was walking down the hallway, about to leave since school was over, Gwen met up with me.

"Hey" She said with her usual smile.

"Hey" I replied back, adjusting the bag on my shoulder.

"I have a question for you" She said suddenly

"Okay, shoot" I said chuckling lightly at her.

"What's with your clothes?" She asked and I paused for second and stop walking at the same time.

"What?" I said, not sure what she meant by the question. Was she trying to say she didn't like my clothes or what…?

When seeing my face reaction, she added "No, I mean, they're really pretty but it's kind of…" She paused, clearly trying to find words. "You don't dress like a normal teenage girl, I mean, you don't dress for high school" She said and kind of gave an awkward chuckle at the end.

"Oh" I said with a slight nod, understanding.

"You dress like you're walking a runway, not a hallway." She added, motioning to my clothes and I chuckled. Honestly, I didn't think I was "overly dressed" today. I was wearing a black (seamless) tank top with a black and white striped cardigan over it, also a pair of black skinny jeans and yellow studded back ankle booties. For accessories, I had a Karen Millen black suede tote bag, a gold orbiting cuff (bracelet), an ivory stone ring with a golden spider on top, along with dangling gold spider earrings.

"I like that" I said referring to her comment "And yeah, I know what you mean but I love dressing like this. It's… me, it's who I am." I stated and she nodded.

"Well, can I tell you a secret?" She asked and I nodded "I kind of envy that your parents let you dress however you want for school. My dad would never allow me to leave the house wearing high heels." I nodded slowly, trying to give a smile but it came off kind of sad. "Did I say something wrong?" She asked, seeming worried.

"No, it's just… I don't have parents anymore. They died when I was little so…" I explained, keeping it brief.

Gwen's face dropped and I could instantly see guilt in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

I shook my head and gave her a small smile, "Don't worry about it, how could you? We've only known each other for less than a week." I said, "And I would love to talk more but I have to go to work." I explained and she nodded.

"Oh, well where do you work, if you don't me asking?" She wondered

"Oscorp, it's my first day. I'm supposed to attend some kind of tour first."

"Seriously…?" She said, and I titled my head at her smile. "I work there too, I'm one of the head interns, and I will be the one showing the tour today." She explained with a light chuckle at the end.

"Oh wow," I started "Well, do you need a ride there?" I asked

"Oh, no, that's okay. I can take the subway, or my dad sometimes drives me." She said, trying to be kind.

"No, no, that's not necessary, in fact I insist. Besides, carpooling is good for the environment right?" I said then added "And it would be kind of nice to have someone I know there."

"Well in that case, yeah sure, thanks. That's very nice of you." She said

"No problem at all." I said and started walking towards the doors, "Come on, my car is parked right out front."

As we both approached my car, Gwen stopped for a moment and all but gawked at it.

"What?" I asked, staring at her.

"This is your car?" She said, finding it hard to believe.

"Yeah" I said casually, "Are you surprise?"

"You wouldn't think so since I've met you already" She commented, I smiled and waved her to get in the car.

"Come on, we don't want to be late." I said unlocking my car doors and climbing in.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

Since I didn't feel like showing teeth for the picture, I just gave a close mouth smile instead. After my picture was taken, one of the workers at Oscorp gave me my I.D. badge, which I then pinned to the lab coat that I had to wear.

"So what do you think?" I said to Gwen as she walked down the hallway.

"It's nice" I gave her a look so she added, "What…? It is."

"I hate I.D. badges." I commented and she elbowed me lightly.

"It's not that bad." She said

"Oh, so it went from being "nice" to "not that bad", I knew you were lying." I teased before we approached the tour group of interns. I felt my stomach tie a knot, and it was the same feeling I got at school, but looking at the group, I didn't understand why it was happening right now. I mean, I didn't notice anybody I knew in the group.

"Welcome to Oscorp" Gwen announced to the interns, "My name is Gwen Stacy and this Jessica Drew, we are seniors at Midtown Science and we're also head interns to Dr. Connors." She explained which wasn't actually accurate but I went along with it anyway. "So you'll be you for the duration of your visit" She added, "Where I go, you go. That's the basic rule." She said

"If you remember that, all will be fine" I said, I was starting to feel bored standing her saying nothing. Gwen didn't seem to mind though.

Right at the same time, I heard some say "Come on!" in the lobby so I glanced over.

"If you forget that-" Gwen started but when the voice got louder, she stopped and we all looked over. From where I was standing I could see guards all but dragging a teenager out of the building.

"Listen!" He yelled, "Look, listen. Tell them Rodrigo Guevara is here, please. Just tell them Rodrigo Guevara is here! I'm Rodrigo!" He yelled as they took him out of the building.

"Well… I guess we don't need to tell you what happens if you forget that." I stated, looking towards the group. I could see Gwen holding back a smile.

"Shall we?" She said

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

"Come around this way" Gwen said to the group as we entered Dr. Connors lab.

When we arrived, Dr. Connors left his station, walking over to us. I had only been introduced to Dr. Connors when we first arrived, but we hadn't really had a chance to talk. I wanted to get him alone to talk about my parents.

"Good afternoon, Gwen, Jessica" He said towards us as he approached the group.

"Dr. Connors" Gwen said while I just sent him a nod.

"Welcome" he said to the group, "My name is Dr. Curtis Connors. And yes, in case you're wondering, I'm a southpaw." He joked, referring to his missing (right) arm. "I'm not a cripple; I'm a scientist, and the world's foremost authority on herpetology. That's reptiles, for those of you who don't know." He explained, "But like the Parkinson's patient, who watches on in horror as her body slowly betrays her or the man with macular degeneration whose eyes grow dimmer each day, I long to fix myself." He said, "I want to create a world without weakness" He stated, I didn't answer with him but I kept my mouth shut anyway. "Anyone care to venture a guess just how?" He asked and one inter automatically lifted his arm. "Yes" Dr. Connors said, choosing the intern.

"Stem cells?" He asked, lowering his arm.

"Promising, but the solution I'm thinking of is more… radical." He explained, "No one?"

"Cross-species genetics" A soft voice said, that came from the back of the group. At first I couldn't see the person but when a few interns stepped aside, I saw his face. I barely recognized him since he was wearing glasses.

Almost instantly, I looked at my iPad, re-checking the names on the list of interns. I was sure there was no "Peter Parker" on that list and after reading it over, I was right. If he wasn't one of the interns, then what was he doing here? Gwen and I both shared the same look. If Peter was here, without permission and was caught, we could both get in trouble.

"Person gets Parkinson's when the brain cells that produce dopamine start to disappear." Peter stated as I looked up at him with a stern but curious expression. Without saying anything, I listen to Peter talk, "But a zebra fish has the ability to regenerate cells on command. If you could somehow give this ability to the woman you're talking about, that's that. She's…" He gave a small, nervous smile before finishing, "She's curing herself."

"Yeah, you just have to look past the gills on her neck" One of the interns commented causing others to chuckle, and I had to keep from rolling my eyes.

Dr. Connors shushed them instantly; he seemed stunned by Peter's response. "And you are..?" He asked

When Peter didn't answer right away, I spoke up. "He's one of Midtown Science's best and brightest"

"Really..?" Dr. Connors said, walking closer to me and Gwen.

"Hm, he's second in his class" I added and that was mainly for my benefit.

"Oh" Dr. Connors said

"Second?" Peter repeated, looking at me.

"Yeah" I said softly, while having a very small smile on my lips.

"Are you sure about that?" He questioned

"I'm pretty sure" I said, trying so badly to hold back a huge smile. He knew I was lying but since he wasn't supposed to be here, he couldn't do anything about it. He bit the inside of lip and nodded towards me, catching what I was doing.

At that same moment, Dr. Connors phone started to ring. "I'm afraid duty calls." He announced, "I'll leave you in the more-than-capable hands of Miss Stacy and Miss Drew. Nice meeting you all." He said before walking off. As much as I wanted to follow and see where he was going, I couldn't leave the group.

"If you'd like to gather round" Gwen said as we both took a step back when a simulation appeared in front of us.

"Welcome to Oscorp's tree of life" The simulation said as everyone rounded up.

I happen to glance over seeing Peter trying to sneak away from the ground, heading in the direction Dr. Connors went but I met up with him before he could go anywhere.

"Hi" I said, causing him to stop. By his body language and his face expression when he turned around to face me, he knew he was caught. I glanced at his badge before saying, "What are you doing, "Rodrigo"?" and I now understood why that teenager was being escorted out, Peter had taken his badge.

Peter looked confused at first by calling him "Rodrigo" before checking his badge. "Oh, yeah" He said with a nervous smile, remembering the name tag.

I lightly giggled, "What are you doing here?"

"I work here, I don't work here" He said quickly, his nervous smile growing slightly, "I was gonna say- I was gonna say I work here but it seems that you, in fact, do work here, so you would know that I, in fact, don't work here." He said in a nervous, yet cute, ramble.

"You following me…?" I asked, smiling lightly.

"No, I'm not- I'm not following you, no. I had no idea you worked here." He said breaking into a nervous chuckle.

"Then why would you be here?" I asked softly.

"I just snuck in because…" He started in a lower tone, "I love science."

"You love science." I repeated, trying not to laugh.

"I'm passionate about it" He added, trying to convince me.

"You snuck in-?" I said while glancing back at the group; hearing the simulation end. When I looked back at Peter, I said "I have to lead this tour group with Gwen."

"I know" He replied

"So I'm going to ask more about this later" I continued, taking a few steps backwards. "Do not get me in trouble" I stated

"I promise you I won't." He said honestly, with a soft tone.

"Stay with the group" I stated, turning around to meet up with Gwen.

"All right, guys?" Gwen said, getting the interns attention. "I'm gonna take you to the bioreactor room now." I followed Gwen down the hallway and when I looked back at the group, I didn't see Peter anywhere. Sighing, I decided to just keep an eye out for him and hoped he didn't get me or Gwen in any trouble, like he promised.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

While standing in the lab, I happen to look over seeing Peter just casually walking down the hallway. So I started walking towards the hallway myself and met up with him just as he entered the lab. Still holding my iPad in one hand, I stared at him with a daring look. He gave another chuckle and tried form an excuse but this time, I wouldn't let him. "All right, give me the badge." I said holding my hand out. He dropped his head with a sigh, "Give it to me" I said, my hand still out.

When he handed me the badge he said "Sorry" but I just turned around, walking off. As I was walking towards the group, I could have swore I heard Peter groan, like he was in pain, but when I glanced back at him, he was just casually scratching the back of his neck. Assuming nothing was wrong, I returned to Gwen and the rest of the group.

The group wasn't here much longer, just a couple minutes and when they left, Gwen and I started to chat a bit.

"So…" She started and instantly, I knew she was on one of her casual interrogations. "What was all that about with Peter?"

"Nothing, just Peter being Peter" I said casually as I played around on my iPad.

"Just nothing…?" She said

"Just nothing" I repeated her words as a statement.

"Okay" She said then paused before you adding, "But if there was more than "nothing" going on, you'd tell me right?" She wondered and I rolled my eyes, groaning softly.

"Yes, Gwen," I said turning in a seat to give her a look before return to my iPad.

She had given me a nod and had been quiet for a few moments before quickly asking "So, do you think he likes you?"

"Okay!" I said standing up from the desk chair, taking my iPad with me. "As much as I would love to continue this elementary-school rated conversation, I just remembered I have errands to run. I'll talk to you later." I said before swiftly walking away.

When I did I heard Gwen mumble something like "She so likes him" which caused me to send her a (playful) glare in return.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

When I left the lab, I immediately went down the hallway I caught Peter walking down and followed it, seeing where he could have possibly went earlier. I knew the reason why Peter snuck into Oscorp had nothing to do with "science" or not all of it at least; otherwise he would have stay with the group.

As I continued down the hallway, and after passing a door, I stopped and looked back. There was a symbol that caught my eye. The sign read "BIOCABLE DEVELOPMENT UNIT" and next to the words was the symbol that caught my attention: two O's with strikes through each of them. Just like the one I found on that old file in Mr. Osborn desk, which was also involved with my dad's work. Peter's dad was also involved in this project, maybe that's why Peter snuck in. I reached over to grab the handle but before I even attempted to open the door, I realized there was an access pad to the right. I quietly groaned, not knowing the password and it wasn't just some 4-digit password, this seemed to be a more "complex" system. Although, as I watched the little pattern the device made, something seemed oddly familiar about it. Acting on memory, I reached up and copy the design I had seen before by using my finger to slide around the little dots on the touch screen. I let a scoff when it read "Access Accepted" in blue letters. I closed my eyes briefly, thinking, _Thank god for "Bring-Your-Child-to-Work-Day"._

Walking into the room quickly, before being spotted, I shut the door and examined the room. The first thing that stuck out to me was the machine behind a glass wall that read "POLYMERIZATION" on the side which caused me to furrow my eyebrows. I knew Polymerization was a chemical process that combines several monomers to form a polymer or polymeric compound but what molecular structure of a substance was Oscorp trying to build up?

My question was answered when I focus more on the machine behind the glass. I noticed that the machine was program to pull and stretch what appeared to be a type of web. I wasn't sure yet if it was real web or Oscorp's version of it. Seeing this caused me to glance down at my wrist, after pulling my sleeve up slightly. On both of my wrists I have a little hole when allows me to spread out web, like an actual spider. I know it sounds weird, and believe me, when it first happened; I freaked out but now... not so much. Although, the (little) hole itself wasn't visible, especially to the naked or human eye. And over the years, I had learned that when pressing my middle and ring fingers into palm, it acted as a button causing web to leave my wrist. It all sounded crazy, I know, but that's it worked.

I continued to watch the machine for a few seconds and saw that after the stretching process of the web, it was then injected into a tray of pellets before being place into a box that was labeled OSCORP. Are they selling it? I wondered before moving on to the next thing in the room. Walking over to a door, passing a closet that said "RADIATION SUITS" but since radiation had no effect on me, I didn't bother with it. The door I approached had written, from the bottom to the top, "RESTRICTED ACCESS" and then the same symbol from the door outside. Since, technically, I knew the access code to get into the room; I didn't think "restricted" applied to me anymore. Before even opening the door, I examined it through the glass. The room had a, somewhat dark, blue tint to it but I was able to see clearly anyway. Through the glass, I saw- what can only be described as a rotating spider nest- one in the center of the room, and a larger one rotating around the center.

Since there was an opening in the outer nest, I was able to walk in between the two without touching the machine itself. With something like this, a single touch could set the whole thing off and I really couldn't afford to get caught right now. I continued walking around in "aw", staring at the little spiders that crawled around on the webs they had spun. I stopped finally and leaned in closer, studying the spiders before reaching my hand out but keeping it at least an inch from the machine. As I stuck my finger out, a spider immediately crawled over and onto my finger. It crawled up until it reached the top of my hand, where it then stopped. I continued to stare at the spider; it reminded me of the one I encountered when I was a little girl. While staring, the memory came flooding back to me like it was yesterday.

_As I hid behind a table in my father's lab, in the basement, I couldn't help but giggle at spying on my dad without him knowing it. Instantly, my brother, Cole, turned to me, saying "Shh" in a mean tone while holding his index finger to his lips. I hushed up quickly and then we both continued watching my father, while he stood at another table that was in front of him. _

_After my father opened a brown cardboard box, he pulled out a plastic container. I think it was filled with bugs of some sort. When he sat the plastic container on the table, he then left the room. Cole immediately got up and walked over to the table, so I followed me. _

_Cole was taller than me so he was able to see into the plastic container better than I was. After struggling to see the case for a few seconds, I heard Cole groan before picking something up from the other side of the table. _

_He placed the stool down on the ground and then helped me up onto it. I smiled at him before we both rested our arms on the counter and stared at the clear case. I was right before; the case was filled with spiders. Well, one spider, that is. My brother and I just watched the spider crawl around the little branch that was placed into the plastic case, before using a string of web to lower itself down. _

_I stared in awe at this action. Most girls my age hated spiders and would have screamed if one was near them, but I didn't mind them too much. As long as they were left in their cage…_

_Suddenly, Cole decided to reach over, sliding the case closer, and try to take the top off. _

_"Cole, what are you doing?" I asked as I watched him, "Cole, stop it, you're going to get us in trouble." _

_"Who cares?" Cole snapped right before he unlatched the lock on the side. I grabbed the case before he could completely open it._

_"Stop it, Cole. We're going to get in trouble." I snapped back, knowing Dad would be down any minute._

_"No, we won't and stop being a cry baby." He said_

_"I am not a cry baby" I replied, gripping the case harder and trying to pull it away from him. _

_"Gimme it" He said, trying to pull it back_

_"No" I said, pulling back towards me harder._

_"Gimme it, now" He said_

_When he pulled again, I pulled harder saying "No". He pulled one more but when I pulled it again, I heard footsteps come down the stairs. _

_"What's going on down here?" I heard Dad say and Cole let go of the case right as I pulled again causing me to fall backwards, off the stool and land hard on the concrete floor. _

_As I did, I heard the case shatter next to me and I couldn't help but cry out when some pieces of glass pierced my skin. _

_I heard Cole gasp at what had happened but he didn't move from his position, unlike my father, who ran the rest of the way down the stairs and appeared at my side almost instantly._

_"Jessi" My dad said, lifting me up gently. "Jessi, are you okay?" He asked, clearly upset. _

_"My arm hurts, daddy" I said, a few tears falling._

_"Oh, sweetie…" He said, wiping them away before looking to my brother. "What is the matter with you, Cole? You know better than to come down here… especially with your little sister. You're supposed to watch her." He snapped,_

_"But, Dad…" Cole said, but my dad wouldn't let him speak._

_"No buts, now go upstairs. We'll talk later." Cole did exactly that but not without a hard glare to me. _

_"Daddy…" I said, after glancing to the ground, remembering there was a spider in that case before. _

_"What, sweetie?" My dad said, returning his attention to me._

_"Where did the spider go?" I asked, looking around the floor. All that I could see on the floor was broken glass, a little bit of dirt from the bottom of the case, and the branch the spider had been on earlier. But there was no spider… anywhere. _

_"Don't worry about it, sweetie, I'll find it later." My dad said, lifting me up in his arms. "Let's get you upstairs and have that arm checked out, okay?" He said and I nodded glancing at my arm, see the fresh cuts on my skin. I still managed to wrap my arms around my dad's neck as we walked away from the broken glass, heading to the stairs. I glanced back at the pile of broken glass and tried to see if I could spot the spider, but it was really gone. _

_ (Flashback continues...)_

_After my dad placed me in bed, he spoke "I'll be right back," He said, "Keep this rag on your arm, okay?" I nodded before he began walking off. Before he reached the door, I felt a sharp pinch on my other arm causing me to gasp loudly. My dad immediately turned back around, saying, "What's wrong?"_

_Since that was it, and I felt no more pain in that arm, I shook my head. "Nothing" I lied and after giving me a long stare, he nodded and left the room._

_When he was gone, I moved away the blanket (my dad had placed over me) and saw a tiny bite mark on my forearm that had some kind of… string connected to it. Out of curiosity, I lightly pulled on the string, releasing it from the bite and then lifting it up so I could see it. When I did, my eyes followed down the string and I gasped again when I saw what was on the end. My breathing became hard when I recognized the spider; it was the one from the plastic case in Dad's lab. I swallowed hard, staring at the thing. It seemed to be dead but right now, that didn't make me feel any better. Drawing my attention away, I could hear my dad's footsteps coming down the hallway so quickly; I placed the spider (and the web) into my glasses case that was on the nightstand, next to my bed. I then sat back right as my dad entered my room._

Coming back from my little trip down memory lane, I remembered I was still in a "restricted area" and should probably leave soon. Before leaving, I pulled my phone out and snapped a few shots of the spider nest, as well as the web maker. I peered out the little window on the door before walking out, making sure the coast was clear. _For a very cautious company, the security sucks,_ I thought as I walked down the hallway.

As I walked back into the lab, Gwen spotted me instantly and said "I thought you "errands" to run?" She was mocking me of course so I just (playfully) rolled my eyes.

"Do you know where Dr. Connors is? I've been meaning to talk to him but I can't find him." I said while picking up my purse I had left behind. Without Gwen seeing, I pulled out a little black bug and no, it wasn't the insect time. This was a hearing bug; I wanted to put on in Dr. Connors office. I slipped the bug into my coat pocket just in time to hear Gwen answer my question.

"He should be in his office" She said and pointed to behind her.

"Thanks" I said and then walked towards his office and since the door and walls were (clear) glass, I could see him sitting at his desk. I could also see someone sitting down in the chair across from his desks, talking to him. I did not recognize this person, and slowed my pace, not wanting to interrupt their argument. However, I opened the door right after the strange man stood up to leave. When I did, I caught the last thing he said to Dr. Connors before leaving.

"Or we'll both lose our heads" I furrowed my eyebrows at his words but quickly removed the expression when he turned around, seeing me. I just gave him a small, innocent smile, which he responded with a blank face expression before walking a passed me, out of the office.

I wondered who that man was and what they were discussing but I quickly remembered the main reason why I needed to talk to Dr. Connors.

"Um, Dr. Connors…?" I said, pulling his attention from his paper work. He seemed distracted and slightly nervous but I assumed it had something to do with what the man had said to him before leaving.

"Yes," He said looking up at me.

"You probably don't know who I am…" I started but Dr. Connors cut me off.

"You're Jessica Drew, you work with Gwen." He stated

"Right" I muttered and before I could say another word, he spoke up again.

"Look, I'm very busy right now." He said, trying to get me to leave but I had questions and I was tired of waiting.

I shut the glass door behind me before turning back around to face Dr. Connors, who had returned to the paperwork on his desks.

"Dr. Connors, it is very important that I speak with you now." I said and when he glanced up at me, I knew he was about to say "no", or something along those lines so I didn't give him a chance. "I promise I won't take much of your time." I added softly.

He sighed before motioning for me to sit in the chair in front of his desk. "Make it fast." He said

"Thank you" I said, while I sat down. "Okay, long story short, my dad used to work here. In fact, he used to work with you." I started to explain

"I've worked with a lot of people, Ms. Drew" He said, breaking eye contact and looked down at his paperwork again, losing interest in me.

"His name was Jonathan Drew." I said and in that same moment, I saw his eyes flickered before meeting mine again.

"You're… Jonathan's daughter…?" He said, staring at me. If I was right, and I usually am, I could see guilt in his eyes when mentioning my dad's name. I nodded and he added, "I thought you and your family moved away?" He wondered but with a slow, careful tone. Like he didn't want to push, or ask too many questions.

"We did, but I just recently moved back. I figured being away for 10 years was long enough." I said, adding a small smile at the end.

"Did you need to ask me something about your dad, is that why you're here?" He asked, adjusting his glasses nervously, but trying to seem calm about it.

"Yeah, actually I have a couple questions really." I stated, "Um, how well did you know my dad? I mean, I don't remember seeing you when I was little but I do remember your name being mentioned off and on."

"Your father and I were fairly close, I guess. We worked together for many years-" He started

"Worked together on what?" I asked suddenly with a blunt voice before adding "if you don't mind me asking" so I didn't seem too pushy.

"Well, several things." He said so I decided to push a bit.

"Things like, cross-species genetics?" I offered, catching the look in his eyes when I said it. "It mentioned during the tour, and it brought back some memories for me. I remember my dad was working on something pretty big and he wasn't working on it alone."

"Ms. Drew," He said professionally, "while your father and I worked together, he did not include me in all of his projects."

"Well, which ones did he include you in, Dr. Connors?" I questioned, a bit defensive causing Dr. Connors to look offended. "Look, I'm sorry to just come in here and ask questions, but it's all I have left. I just want to know what my dad did when he was here, what projects he was working on, the people he was working with. Just something, something that can help give me answers."

Dr. Connors was quiet for a moment before saying softly, "I'm sorry, but I don't have any answers for you." I dropped my head slightly, playing the disappointed card and while doing so, I remembered the bug in my coat pocket. When I notice Dr. Connors close his eyes briefly while sighing, I reached into my pocket and held the bug in the palm of my hand. "What can I tell you, though, is that your father was one of the nicest, most caring men I've ever known, or worked with and he loved his family, even more than he loved science." He explained, I guess trying to help for his last of answers.

"Thank for you time, Dr. Connors." I said and right before standing up, and without him noticing, I placed the bug underneath the chair. "Sorry to have wasted your time" I added as I walked towards the door.

"Ms. Drew" He said causing me to stop and turned halfway towards him. He stayed at him desk as he spoke, "I wish I could tell you more, but like I said your father didn't always include me. Your father had many secrets." He said

"Don't we all?" I asked hypothetically with a nonchalant tone before opening the glass door and leaving.

"Hey, are you okay?" Gwen asked me when I pulled off my lab coat, tucked it and my iPad into my bag.

"Hm…?" I said, glancing over at her after placing my bag over my shoulders.

"Are you okay? You seemed distracted." She pointed out

"What are you a detective?" I questioned, teasing her for all the times she questions me and my emotional state.

"No, but my dad is" She retorted with a smug smile and I scoffed.

"That makes so much sense. It actually explains all the badgering you do." I stated, still teasing her.

She gave a childish expression saying "I don't badger"

"You're kind of a badger" I retorted then added, "You know what? That's what I'm going to call you from now on, "Badger"" I said, sarcasm dripping from every word. "It's got a bit of ring to it, hm?" I said before walking away a few steps

"I am not a badger" She said, crossing her arms over her chest.

I just send her a smile and said "Goodbye, Gwen."

Even though she was still pouting from my remark, she gave me a friendly wave goodbye and said "See you at school."

After sending her a smile, I left the lab and used the elevator to head to the lobby. There was no point and staying any longer at Oscorp since I did all the things I had planned to do. I went on the tour; I talked to Dr. Connors and I even found the project my dad was working on, even if Dr. Connors wouldn't admit knowing anything about it. Which made me wonder, why would a man like Connors lie about working with my dad on cross-genetics? What reason(s) could he possibly have to keep secrets away from me about my father? Was he trying to protect me… or himself?

ѫ Ѫ ѫ


	5. Chapter 5

**Untangling the Web**

**Chapter Five**

The entire ride home, all I could think about was my parents. Even at such a young age when they died, I still remember the smallest details about them. At the moment, my thoughts went to my mom. How she looked, she was also so beautiful, I thought. She had light blonde hair, pretty blue eyes and a stunning complexion, neither too pale nor too tan.

My thoughts then drifted to how she dressed. My mom was had a vintage look to her clothing choices, consisting of Mary Jane's and cardigans. She didn't shop expensively either, even though she could have. We were a very wealthy family growing up, and still are. I always loved my mom's style and I tend to mix it with my own.

The accessories my mom would wear were vintage as well, except for one necklace. It was a locket my father gave my mom on their 1st anniversary. On the front of the locket was their initials written out "M & J" and for the backside (and I know my dad must have been really obsessed with spiders), there was a perfect drawing of a spider. Not specific to any kind, just a simple spider but it must have meaning to my mom since she wore it every day. Anyways, I continued thinking about the necklace, it dawns on me that I hadn't seen that necklace since my mom died. I was pretty sure she wore it the night she was killed but it wasn't in the belongings the police had returned to me.

When I finally returned home, I went immediately to my dad's office. I still hadn't gotten around to cleaning it yet, so it was still exactly as it was a week ago and ten years before that. I examined the ground as I walked, not wanting to step on anything or the locket, if it was in here. I continued walking and when I couldn't find it in a plain sight; I started to pick objects off the ground, looking under them.

When I came up to the bookcase that my mom had been standing in front of that night, I bend down and began moving aside books. As I did, something caught my attention from the corner of my eye. I spotted a silver chain underneath a book. Reaching, over to my right, I lifted the book and sure enough, there was the necklace. I smiled when I saw it, and picked it up, examining it carefully. The locket was open so I could see the inside of the locket. On one side (the left) was a picture of my parents, Cole and me. It was the same one from the broken picture frame I had placed in my room. On the right side, there was a photo of my mom and dad. They were much younger in this photo and I knew it had to be around the time they first started dating. I smiled at this picture, seeing them so happy. I sniffled, holding back tears. They weren't sad tears this time, they were tears of joy but I don't think I could handle another tear feast so I closed the locket. When I did, I admired my parent's initials on the front before turning it around to see the back of the locket. There, still very visible after all these years, was the spider drawing I remembered.

Standing up, while still holding the necklace, I left my dad's office, shutting the door behind me. As I walked through the foyer, Jeffery approached me.

"Oh, Madam Drew, you're home. How was school?" He asked, politely.

"It was fine" I said softly, my eyes only looking at him briefly before fiddling with the necklace (in my hands) in front of me.

"And work went well, I assume?" He wondered, trying to get me talking.

I snapped out of my small daze and looked to Jeffery "Yes, it was fine, as well. Thank you for asking" I said then glanced at the locket again.

"Oh, you found your mother's necklace!" He said after noticing it in my hand.

"Yeah, it was in dad's office. It must have fallen off the night she…" I paused, swallowing before adding "Anyway, I can't believe you remember it."

"Yes, of course. If you only knew how many times I had to fix that chain…" He sighed tiredly, causing me to smile before he added, "I even remember the day your father picked it out for your mother. He worried she wouldn't like it because of the spider. However, I assured him that she would like it, not because of what it was, but because it from him."

"And you were right" I said with another smile, "I don't think she ever took it off."

He shook his head, "I had never seen two people so in love, like your parents." He said, staring down at the necklace in my hand. "They truly had something special."

"Yeah, they did" I said softly, looking down at the necklace myself.

"I made you a snack, Madam Drew. Come into kitchen and you can tell me how work _really_ went today." Jeffery said, pulling me along to the kitchen with him.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

Jeffery brought the snack he made to the kitchen table, before sitting across from me. He had made me a banana-peanut butter sandwich with toasted wheat bread. I smiled at his food choice for me, "Thank you, Jeffery" I said as he sat down with his tea.

As soon as he sat down, he said "Oh, I forgot your smoothie in the fridge." When he started to get up, I stopped him.

"That's okay, I'll get it. Just sit, relax and enjoy your tea." I told him, before standing up. When I saw he had a look of doubt, I pointed my finger at him and added "And that's an order"

As I walked over to the fridge, Jeffery asked casually "So how did work really go today?"

I sighed, "I know you think that every time I tell you something went "well" or "fine" that I'm lying so you don't worry about me but this time, I'm not lying." I said glancing back at him, "It really was fine."

"Something must have went wrong, or not in your favor." He stated

"Why would you say that?" I asked, scanning the fridge for my "smoothie". "And where is the smoothie?"

"Because when you discover something new or something you like, you ramble on about it. Your smoothie is a thermos on the top shelf" He said and I looked up, spotting the thermos.

"Found it" I said, grabbing it before closing the fridge.

"And when you're over-thinking something, you avoid the subject. Much like you are doing now." Jeffery added, right before I said down

I sighed settling back in my seat across from him, "I'm not avoiding or over-thinking anything. I just don't have anything to talk about. Besides, you and I both know you don't like to talk about science."

"Yes, but I like talking to you and you love science." He said honestly, and I cracked a small smile.

"Okay, well, you love collecting vintage spoons, yet you never talk to me about it." I pointed out.

"You don't like talking about vintage spoons." Jeffery stated.

"And you don't like talking about science" I retorted, taking a bit of my sandwich. "It's never a two-way a street with you, is it?" I said, mocking him.

"You're avoiding again." Jeffery said

I took a sip of my smoothie before sighing. "Alright, fine." I surrendered, placing down my thermos, "I found out that the project my dad was working on before died is still on-going. In fact, they have made some… process in development." I pulled out my phone and went to my photos before handing the phone to Jeffery. "I found this room with the same symbol that was written on a project file in Mr. Osborn's office." I explained as Jeffery took out his glasses, slipping them on before examining the photos. "They're creating spiders, Jeffery. Not just one, not just two, a whole nest. And this is the same spider that bit me; I mean it looks the exact same. They're also creating web. I'm not sure yet if it's spider-made or man-made, but it looked like the real deal to me." I paused for a second before adding, "Explain something to me, Jeffery" He looked away from my phone, to me. "What does Oscorp want with mutated spiders? What are they trying to create?" I wondered

"Well…" He started, "Did you talk to the man in the photo with your father? Dr. Connors…?" He said slowly, not sure if that was his name.

I chewed my food for a bit before replying, "Yeah but he wasn't much help."

"He didn't know anything?" Jeffery wondered

"Oh no, he knows something about this, he just won't tell me. I mean, he has an entire article about cross-species genetics, plus he was working with my dad. I know my dad was secretive, but he had to have told _someone_ about what he was doing." I said, "Oh, and you want to know the title of Connors' memoir?" Jeffery nodded, ""A World without Weakness" What does that mean, exactly? Our world needs weakness, everyone and everything needs a weakness; it's what keeps us balanced. If you take that away, what do we have? I mean, I'm all for people being equal but… invincible?" I shook my head at the end before taking another bit of my sandwich and washing it down with my smoothie. I notice Jeffery was smiling at me; I furrowed my eyebrows at him before saying, "What…?"

"You sound like your father" He said, "He always believed that even though the world didn't want weaknesses, it still needed it." He stated and I nodded.

"I know. He used to tell me that even though I was stronger than most people, it didn't make me better than them. He didn't want me to think less of them because I was different."

"That's right." Jeffery said with a nod, "Your father believed that if you could help people, you had a responsibility to help them. That's why he became a scientist; he wanted to create something that would help the world. Make it a safer place. He wanted to be-"

"A hero" I finished for him and he nodded. "You're right, Jeffery…" I said suddenly and he titled his head at me, not following. "If you have the ability to help people, you should… and I can." I said, "And that's what I'm going to do" I added before standing up, leaving the kitchen without another word.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

As I sat in the front of my bed, on the floor, I heard a knock at my door. Knowing it had to be Jeffery; I said "Come in" and returned to putting on a simple pair of (fiery) red flat boots. They matched the skinny jeans I had changed into a couple minutes ago, when I also changed my black slim tank into a yellow one.

When the door opened, Jeffery stuck his head in before walking inside the room. "Madam… might I ask what's going on?"

"You were right" I said, slipping on the last boot.

"Yes, I've gathered that but what I don't understand is what I was right about"

I stood up after I finished with my boots, saying "I can help people Jeffery, I have the abilities to help people and yet I've wasted all these years doing nothing." I paused before adding, "My father breed those spiders and he was part of creating what I am for a reason. You said yourself he wanted to make the world a better place. What if I can do that?" I wondered, "And I know it's a long shot for me to save the _entire _world but I can help _this_ city. Crime is happening every day and the cops… well as much as they help; they're bound by laws. I think someone should step in and give them an extra hand, someone who isn't bound by those rules."

"And you think this person is you?" Jeffery asked watching me carefully. "I think you may have misunderstood me…"

"No, you made perfect sense. Think about it Jeffery… I can really do some good with these abilities. Plus, I'm tired of having to hide what I am every day. I hardly ever get to use my abilities and for once, when I do use them, I want to use them for something good." I paused, watching Jeffery's face expression, sometimes he was just unreadable. "So… what do you think?" I asked

He was silence for a minute and just when I thought he was going to disagree or lock me in my room, he said "You expect me to go along with a plan that includes you going out, and fighting possibly the worse criminals in the world, and have the slight of you being hurt?" I looked down briefly, knowing his answer would be no.

I decided to go along with him and innocently said, "Yeah?"

He surprised me when he added, "Can I be of any assistance?"

I lightly chuckled and nodded, "I would love that"

"Might I point out that while New York City is very beautiful, it is also very dangerous?" Jeffery pointed out.

"I know, and I'll be cautious. I know my weaknesses and my strengths. I've been trained before Jeffery; I know how to defend myself in any situation." I walked over to him, placing my hands on his shoulders, "I'll be fine, okay? Have a little faith in me."

"I always have, and I always will. But that doesn't mean I won't ever worry."

"I know." I said softly before dropping my hands and walking into my closet. From the very back, I picked out a red leather jacket that matched my jeans and it also had a crimson red hoodie sewed in on the inside.

When I returned to my room, after pulling on the leather jacket, I said "If it helps, we can stay in touch when I'm out. I mean, that's what Bluetooth is for." I joked causing him to smile.

"No need, I trust you will be okay. Besides the last thing you need is me in your ear while you're busy with criminals" I smiled at him.

"I'll carry my ear piece with me anyway. If I want to help people, I need to know where to find them, which is why I hacked into the police radio earlier and programmed it to my phone" I explained as I walked over to my dresser, I picked up the earpiece and put it into my ear.

"And that's not illegal?" Jeffery asked

I paused for a set, adjusting the earpiece while saying, "No… not entirely. Most radios pick them up anyway…" Before he could say another word about it, I added "Don't worry, I was careful. It can't be traced back to me anyways."

"And this won't mess with the police?" Jeffery worried.

"Nope, not at all. They won't even know I'm listening" I explained and he nodded, letting out a relieved sigh.

"Are you absolutely sure you can handle this?" He asked, looking me deep in the eyes.

"Yes, I'm sure" I said, "And if after tonight, I feel it's too much for me to handle, or if you have second thoughts, I won't do it anymore. Okay?"

"Don't stop my account, Madam, just be safe." I smiled again and nodded before giving him a hug.

As I walked towards the door, Jeffery asked, "What about your identity? If you're not careful, people will find out who you are."

"I got it covered" I said, pulling the hood (from the hoodie) over my head and it covered the top half of my face. I turned halfway towards Jeffery and added "Literally", motioning to the hood. Jeffery gave me a look of doubt so I said, "It's not permanent, it's just for right now." When his look didn't altered, I added, "I'll add a pair of sunglasses, okay, does that help?"

"I suppose for now that will do." Jeffery said, "Just be careful, please."

I nodded, saying "I will". As I walked down the stairs, I called "Don't wait up, Jeffery" before opening the front door and walking outside.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

As I lay on the metal eagle, on top of the Chrysler building, I listened to the police scanner from my ear piece. Most of the action was taken care of before I could even sit up. Just little things, like, a couple having a nasty argument or an old lady lost her cat. To past the time, I pulled out my cell phone and began playing Tetris again. I was beating my old high score when a police report caught my attention.

"Possible 10-24 on 46th street, next to Park Ave, reported, over." I was on Lexington Ave right now but I waited a few seconds for the police to response back. I knew that "10-24" meant assault so I sat up.

"Possible 10-24, I am five minutes out, 10-4." I heard a police officer say in response. A lot could happen in five minutes so I pulled my hood back over my head and tucked my phone in the little zipper pocket inside my boot (that I sewed in earlier).

I walked backwards, pressing my back against the stone wall and took a deep breath before running towards the end of the eagle-gargoyle and jumping off. I had to keep myself from screaming out (with excitement) from the feeling of falling. It was definitely a rush but I needed to stay focus. Throwing my hand out while flexing my wrist, I shot web in the direction of a nearby building, then gripped it, allowing me to swing through the air without hitting the ground.

When it came to the end of that piece of web, I let it go, flying upward in the air, doing a flip before shooting another line out.

"Whoa" I said impulsively when I did another flip. It felt like it when in slow mode as I went up, flipped and came back down. After this flip, I landed (on my feet) on top of a building. I leaned over the edge, seeing a street sign saying "46th street" and then next to it was "Park Ave". I smiled, knowing I was here and sure enough, when I glanced down at the alley (besides the building); I spotted two men cornering a woman in the corner. I glared down at them before casually hoping over the building. Like before, I landed on my feet and so softly that the men didn't even hear me. I kept to the shadows as I approached the two men, I was just going to ambush them but then I remembered my training.

"Only a coward sneaks up behind a person before attacking." I heard his voice tell me so instead I decided to give these guys a warning.

"Hey!" I said when I saw the men take a few steps closer to the woman, who looked terrified. Both men's head snapped towards me, they (not surprisingly) didn't seem too afraid of me. At least... not yet. "Leave her alone" I said

"Oh yeah...? And if I don't, what are you going to do, sell me cookies?" One of the men chuckled at me, mocking me by referring to me as some "girl scout".

"No, if you don't stop... I'll make you" I said seriously and I meant it. Regardless of my stern tone, both men chuckled.

"You know what?" One of the men said to his friend, then nodded his head towards me while saying, "I'll take care of this one."

I glared at him when I saw the arrogance on his face as he walked towards me. "I'm giving you a warning, back off now while you still have a chance." I warned, but he just smiled and continued walking forward towards me. "All right, but you can't say I didn't warn you." I added, going into defensive mode.

When he reached out for me, I grabbed his arm first, lifting it up before stepping underneath while turning in a small circle (at the same time) which caused him to do a front flip before landing hard on the ground. The man groans out loudly and I smiled, not at his pain but at the fact that I was able to pick up my training so quickly.

I had forgotten about the other guy until a chill going across my body and out of reflex, I went with it. I ducked quickly, dodging the other guy's attempt to take a swing at me. The guy seemed to pause for a second, caught off guard by my actions. Not wasting any time, I swipe my leg under his and knocked him off his feet. When he connected to the ground, he became still so I figured he was unconscious. I hurried over to the woman, making sure she was okay. She had moved herself into a corner of the alley, and sat there in a ball. She seemed very shaken up, either from the men or me... or maybe both?

As I approached her, she tried to press herself closer to the wall, like she was afraid of me. "It's okay..." I said softly, "I'm not going to hurt you" I added, bending down, so I didn't hover over her. "Are you okay?" I asked, "Did they hurt you?"

She looked at me, but I knew she couldn't see my face because the hood created darkness around my face. "I'm okay now, thank you" She said, slightly shaky.

I gave her a nod and smiled, even though she couldn't see it.

Catching my attention, I heard siren near the alley so I stood up and began to leave when the woman spoke. "Wait" She said, standing up herself. "Who are you?"

"I'm..." I paused for a second, "I'm nobody" I finished, right before a cop car pulled up in the alley, his red and blue lights catching my attention. "That's my exit" I said then gave the woman a salute before running downs a trashcan, using it to push off so I could hop the fence in the back alley. I landed on my feet but didn't stop for even a second.

I heard a policeman yell "Freeze!" but it was too late. I shot another web line out and swung upward, off the ground, and was gone before the policeman could reach the fence.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

While I waited on top of another building, in Brooklyn, I listened to the police scanner again. It had been a couple minutes since I had fought those guys and I got to tell you... my blood was still pumping. I wanted to do it again, not just for the rush but because it felt good to help that woman, not to mention, having a chance to fresh up on my fighting skills. Before I had left the last place, I watched the policemen arrest the two men who were attempting to hurt the lady I saved. She explained what had happened, and even though I couldn't hear her from where I was hiding, I knew she had told them about me when she motioned to the fence I had hopped and pointed in the direction I had ran off earlier.

Anyways, I rested my arms on the edge of the building's roof and peered over, looking at how far up I was. When I did, I heard on the police scanner something about a "10-53 on 1540 Broadway." which caused me to instantly hop onto the edge of the building. A 10-53 meant there had been a car accident.

I waited a second, listening to the police talk, and heard them say _"we have a female trapped underneath a car", _I also heard word on bringing in an extra help to move the car but they worried it would be too late.

Shoot out a web line, I swung off the building and hurried to Broadway St, which wasn't that far from me.

When I finally reached the Broadway St, in only two minutes, I spotted the car accident and hurried over to the car. It look like two cars had hit and then a taxi hit them and went over, flipping itself on top of a car. Police were barricading the scene, not wanting people to get close but when I notice that one of the cars was leaking gas, I knew I needed help now. Noticing a sunglasses rack nearby, I snatched a pair and put them on before adjusting my hood.

Slipping passed the policemen next; I hurried over to the stacked cars. I could hear a few people mumbling about me and wondering what I was doing but I ignored them and focus on more important matters. Not wanting to waste time, I bent down and spotted the female the police had been talking about.

"Are you alright?" I asked, even though I knew she probably wasn't.

"Are you with the police?" She asked, as she lay on the roof of the car (that had flipped over). She looked very distressed and I couldn't blame her.

"No, not exactly but I'm gonna help you, okay?" I glanced over at the policemen, who were still busy moving people away from the scene to notice me. "But we got to do it fast, alright?" She nodded to me. "Alright," I muttered, "Just be very still." I added. The windows of the car were shattered so I was able to reach in for a better grip before pulling on the dented door with my strength and managing to pull it off completely (with ease). I threw the door to the ground before reaching into the car for the woman's hand. "You still with me…?" I asked her and she nodded, grabbing onto me. I pulled her from the car, wrapping her arm around my neck and carried her (bridal style) over a few feet, since her ankle was broken. As I sat her down on the sidewalk, the car (that had been leaking gas) suddenly blew up so instantly, I hovered over the woman, shielding her from any debris. The crowd of people that had surrounded the accident gasped loudly at the explosion.

When I pulled away from the woman, she said "Thank you" Before her eyes furrowed at me, "You're… you're just a kid" She added, and I guess that was obvious even with the hood and glasses.

"You're welcome" was all I said before standing up. I noticed that the crowd was staring at me, phones out and cameras flashes. I wasn't that surprised but hopefully, not one would recognize me.

_Jeffery is going to kill me,_ I thought because I knew this would be on the news in the morning.

Catching everyone off guard, there was another explosion and this time it was from the car I had pulled the woman out of. In that moment, I noticed everyone was focused on the explosion so I pulled off my glasses, putting them back since I hadn't paid for them and shot out a line of web towards the top of one of the buildings. After swinging myself forward, high enough to where I could make contact with the building by pressing my palm and soles against the glass windows. I then glanced down at everyone by the wreck and I noticed they were all looking around, no doubt for me, but none of them thought to look up.

After seeing the paramedics reached the woman, and I knew she would be okay, I climbed the rest of the building and hopped onto the roof. From there, I was able to jump from building to building until I reached the outskirts of the town. Instead of walking all the way into town and walking all the way home, I parked my car off to the side of the room, near a patch of woods. Since the car was colored black and it was nighttime, you couldn't see the car there. I took the key from underneath the bumper and climbed in after unlocking the door. I started my car and drove the rest of the way home. I pulled off my hood while driving and lightly smiled to myself. I had went out and saved people. I know it wasn't many but it was a start.

I would have stayed out longer but it was already 2:00am and if I stayed out any longer, Jeffery would be worried sick.

When I got home, I parked my car (quietly) and then instead of walking through the front door, I decided to go around the house. I didn't want to wake Jeffery, if he was sleeping, so I scaled up the side of the house and opened my window before crawling inside.

I closed the window softly behind me and locked it before taking off my boots. I didn't want to make any noises while I walked through my room, or as I walked downstairs to Jeffery's room. I had told him, he could have a bedroom on the second level, like me, but he insisted on living in the maid/butler quarters.

I noticed his door was cracked open just an inch so I pushed it lightly and peered in. I saw Jeffery asleep in his bed, with an open book on his lap and the lamp still on. I lightly smiled at him knowing he probably had tried to stay up, waiting for me. Walking over to his bedside, I picked up his book and closed it before placing it on his nightstand. I then pulled his blanket over him to keep him warm and then turned off his lamp. Without a single sound, I left his room, shutting the door (quietly) behind me.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

As I walked towards the kitchen, I slowed my pace when I heard the news playing and something about a car accident.

When I walked in, Jeffery didn't even look my way since his eyes were glued to television on the counter. However you did speak after footage was shown of me ripping the door off the car to pull the woman out. "You're on the- you're on the news" He said, almost in shock. Like that stage of calmness you have before you have a mental break down.

"Don't freak out" I said, holding up my hands before for him to just let loose whatever he was holding back.

"You're on the news, Jessica" He said and I was slightly caught off guard by him using my first name for once but pushed that aside since that wasn't important right now.

"I know but it's okay, I mean I saved that woman and she's fine." Jeffery let out a scoff because of my words while still watching the television. "And look," I said pointing towards the screen, "They don't know who I am; no one could see my face and Jeffery, that's good." I said, walking towards him, putting my hands on the side of his arms. When he kept starting at the woman talking on the TV, I decided I really should eliminate the source. "I'm just gonna turn this off" I said, slowly took a few steps away from him before turning off the television.

When I did, Jeffery blinked a couple times and I closed my eyes waiting for the yelling to start… but it never did. I opened one eye looking at him, and he seemed to be deep in thought.

"Jeffery, please don't be mad…" I started but he stopped me by speaking.

"You saved that woman." He said shortly before glancing at me, finally making eye contact. "She could have died if you hadn't saved her…" I nodded and watched Jeffery carefully, before realizing what was happening here. He was coming to terms with this whole "saving people" thing and it was just taking him a bit of time to process it. Suddenly, he said "I'm so proud of you" and smiled at me.

I let out a sigh of relief and briefly closed my eyes at the same time. I mean I knew on some level he would be happy with me but for a second there, I was really worried.

"Really…?" I asked

He nodded and stared back at the television, even though it wasn't on. "At first, I was opposed to the idea and slightly annoyed about you being on the news but now… after I've processed…" I smiled to myself for being right about what Jeffery had been doing. "I've come to terms with it and I'm very proud of you, Madam" I was smiling up to the point he called me "Madam". I mean, he had just called me Jessica a few seconds ago, is it really that hard to just call me by my first name?

However, I returned the smile so I wouldn't offend or worry Jeffery. "Well, I'm glad because I was hoping if you were okay with me doing this one night, you wouldn't mind me doing it again?" I pushed to see how much he had processed.

His response was slow but he soon nodded and said, "I wouldn't be so against the idea." He said

"I'm glad to hear that because I'm going to need a few favors." I said and Jeffery nodded.

"Very well, what favors do you ask of today, Madam?" He said, his British accent making him sound even more proper.

"Well, I was thinking that even though I was lucky last night about keeping my identity a secret, next time I might not be so lucky." I explained, "So, I've been trying to come up with ideas for a suit. Something that can mask my face, so people can't recognize me. That woman I saved, she may not know who I am but she called me "kid" which means she could see enough of my face and I can't let that happen again. As much as I hate secrets, no one can know that it's me out there, saving people."

"Okay, that makes sense." He said, "But how does a new suit involve a favor from me?" He asked

"Well, I could make suit myself but to save time and to make sure it is the best, I know a guy who can make one himself for me. He's one of the most intelligent and resourceful men I know…" I said slowly, "And he happens to be a good friend of mine and he lives in California." I added dropping a more subtle hint and waiting a moment for Jeffery to figure out on his own who I was talking about.

After a minute, he said "No", stretching the word out dramatically when he realized who I was talking about.

"Come on, Jeffery" I said, moving towards the island, so I could sit down at the bar.

"Must it be him, is there no one else?" He asked

"No one else I trust" I stated, "He might be arrogant, snarky, and at times obnoxious, but he can be trusted."

"He blew his secret, remember? Everyone knows who he is." Jeffery pointed out

"So…? It doesn't mean he's going to do that to me. He felt that it was better for him that way, I understand his reasons and he'll understand mine." Jeffery gave me a look of doubt, "Please Jeffery, could you just be civil with him?" I asked, his look remained the same so I added, "For me, Jeffery?" I made sure to give him my puppy dog eyes to seal the deal.

He gave out a heavy sigh, "Fine, I guess I can tolerant him for you."

"Good… because I already called him and he'll be here in a couple hours." I said quickly then gave Jeffery an innocent smile. However, he did not buy it at all this time. Before he could open his mouth, I said "Anyways, I have a few new shipments coming in today, they should be here soon and I was hoping that we could clear out the basement before they arrive. I think it's about time we unpack those boxes. Chop, chop!" I said clapping my hands together before walking out of the kitchen.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

"I can't believe I kept all this stuff." I commented with an amused tone, while searching through a brown cardboard box. _One of many,_ I thought as I glanced around the basement. There had to be at least 20 to 30 boxes down here, filled with the items I had taken with me from my old house in England. The boxes had arrived when Jeffery and I came back to New York but this was the first time I had a chance to go through it. I had the movers place all the boxes down in the basement so they were out of the way.

"You kept it because they're important." Jeffery commented while he focused on a set of boxes a couple feet behind me. There was no organization to how the boxes were laid out, they were just everything.

"A dry-macaroni portrait of a dog is important?" I said, pulling it from the box and holding it over my shoulder to show Jeffery.

He lightly chuckled before walking over to me, "It must have some purpose for you to keep it all these years."

"Yeah as a reminder that art and crafts really isn't my strong suit." I half-joked while Jeffery just smiled at me before taking the macaroni portrait.

"I remember when you first brought this home. It was the first art project you did when we moved to England. You were so proud at how it turned out" He said, his eyes showing reflection as he stared down at the portrait.

I smiled along with him before saying, "Chunk it" nonchalantly and moved on to other items in the box.

"I most certainly will not "chunk it"!" He said, almost offensively but I just lightly smiled and continued to examine the box items. "This is a precious memory of your childhood, in which you should keep to remember your youth as you get older."

I just gave him a glance, before asking coolly "Are you done?"

"Yes" He said softly, sitting down the portrait and returning his eyes to the box in front of me. At the same time I picked up a picture (from the box), Jeffery commented, "Oh! I remember this as well."

"Yeah, me too" I said while studying the photo taken of me when I was twelve years old. I was at a gymnastics competition and I had one first place. _No surprise there,_ I thought while holding the frame. "It was my first competition…. and my last." I commented

"That wasn't your fault, Madam, it was just an accident." Jeffery said, almost instantly.

"I pushed her Jeffery, it wasn't an accident. I knew better and let my emotions get the best of me." I stated

"I was there, she started it and you defended yourself, there's nothing wrong with that. The only thing that is wrong is that you still blame yourself. You didn't mean to hurt her." Jeffery explained

"Jeffery, I pushed her into a wall, and broke her arm. I could have just as easily have killed her." I stated, sternly.

"No, you wouldn't have. I know you, you know you, and you're not capable of killing someone. It was an accident, she pushed you first and you defended yourself, that's what you're supposed to do. You were a child, Madam, and still learning how to control your abilities. You never attended on hurting her, and she's not holding that against you, so why are you?" He questioned firmly, but when I said nothing, he continued while pointing at the frame, "When you were doing this, it was the happiest I had ever seen you since your parents died. You loved it and you looked forward to it, and as much as you think you're not capable of having a normal life- doing normal things- you can." He explained, "You just have to want to."

I just gave him a silent nod before looking back the photo again. Jeffery walked off to set of boxes he was unpacking earlier and continued on. After staring at the photo for another minute, I walked over and placed it on the desk I had set up earlier. Every office needs a desk, right?

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

"Done" I said finally with a short sigh, and placing my hands on my hips as I stared at the basement, while standing next to the staircase. It looked pretty good, I thought. The basement was originally my dad's lab and I planned on creating a small lab down here as well. When my dad died, his lab was cleaned out by Oscorp workers, taking all their research except for the things I had taken before hand. Like my father's journals of all his experiments and data. I had only just discovered those a couple months before my aunt and uncle died, and still hadn't (really) had a chance to read over them. "Welcome to my new headquarters." I said, crossing my arms over my chest. Most of the items in the boxes were moved up stairs since they were family/personal things but the new boxes that had arrived only moments ago belonged down here.

When I came home last night, I didn't go to bed right away. I stayed up a little while longer and did some online shopping. I picked out and had delivered three desktop-computers, monitors, (untraceable) phones, headsets (and ear pieces), along with routers, GPS tracers and speakers. Not to mention a few basic things like white boards, file cabinets and a couple bookshelves.

The basement was pretty big, especially if all the lights were flicked on. The basement stretched as long as the first floor of the house but my dad only used the first half for his science lab.

"It's very nice" Jeffery commented

"This is just the beginning; I plan on adding in a few more things later. I don't want this place looking half emptied." I explained glancing around the entire basement, seeing how much space was left.

"What will you add?" Jeffery wondered

"I don't know, a lab, maybe? A place to put equipment, hidden compartments, maybe a lounging spot in the corner to relax in?" I suggested when a few ideas came to mind.

"What, no hot sauna?" I heard a familiar voice say, causing me to look up at the top of the stairs. I smiled instantly and swore I heard Jeffery huff quietly behind me. "With all that built up tension of yours, you'll need a release." He added

"Me in a hot, steamy environment…?" I questioned, sarcastically, "Sounds like it benefits you more than me…" I teased, placing my hands on my hips again.

"I think it's a win-win for all of us" He commented sending me a wink as he reached the end of the staircase. I smiled widely and opened my arms out, walking towards him.

"You're finally here" I said hugging him and he, of course, hugged back. "I missed you"

"I missed you too." He pulled away but still kept a hold on me. "Look at you," He said, glancing me over and I could just feel Jeffery glaring at him. "How old are you again?"

"Still underage, Uncle Tony" I joked giving him a pat on the shoulder when he pouted and then pulled away to motion to Jeffery "Tony, you remember Jeffery, right?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Of course. How's it going, Jeeves?" Tony said and I closed my eyes briefly and bit my lip. I knew Jeffery wouldn't like being called that, but Tony is Tony. He likes to push people's buttons.

"May I be of assistances for anything else, Madam Drew?" He asked me, ignoring Tony, and secretly asking if he could leave now.

"No, Jeffery that will be all, thank you." I said and he gave me a polite nod in return before walking up the steps.

"A pleasure as always, Mr. Stark" Jeffery said bluntly as he walked up the stairs. I continued to bite my lip, but it was to keep from laughing this time.

"The pleasure is all mine, Jeeves" I rolled my eyes at Tony for always having to have the last word. I also swore I saw Jeffery pause for just a brief second, probably forcing himself not to say something. When Jeffery was gone, Tony looked to me. "He doesn't like me very much, does he?"

"Can you blame him?" I asked, re-crossing my arms across my chest.

Tony thought about it for a second and shook his head. "No, not really, I get it." I chuckled and watched Tony walk down towards the little office I had set up. He looked around before saying, "So, this is your new lair, huh?"

"It's not a lair, it's an office." I corrected

"Hm-hm, that's why it's in a basement…" He said glancing at me.

"Fair enough" I said, catching his point.

"So, you called about a suit?" Tony asked, arching his eyebrow while hoping up onto the desk to sit down. Luckily, I was only a foot away because when he hopped on because the picture frame I had placed on the desk almost hit the ground. I grabbed it though before it could hit the ground. It's definitely a perk to have spidey-reflexes.

"Whoa," Tony said, probably amused at my reflexes and speed. "I forgot you could do that."

"Yeah…" I said replacing the frame on the desk, making sure it was in the same spot from before. "I need a suit"

"Yeah, I got that" He said smugly, "What's the suit for?"

"Well, you know how you decided that you wanted to help people? You wanted to use your talents for good?" I asked

"Yeah, being a hero is fulfilling I guess... but being a babe-magnet is just a bonus" He said with a smile and I had to keep myself from rolling my eyes.

"I decided I want to do it too- I have already, actually." I said, "Last night, I saved a woman from being attacked by two men and I also saved a woman from a car accident. I pulled her from the car before it exploded."

"Kudos to you" Tony said, actually impressed with me.

"Yeah, thanks" I said, almost modestly, "And it felt good, and if I want to keep doing it…" I said

"You'll need to keep your identity a secret." Tony finished for me

I nodded, "And that's where the suit comes in." I added, "I was hoping you could make it for me, there is no one else I trust more to do this."

"And…?" Tony said, wanting me to say more nice things to him and I knew what he wanted to hear.

I had to pause for a moment, building up the courage to say the next part without rolling my eyes. "You are the best, most intelligent billionaire," I paused again, biting my lip, not wanting to say the next word but Tony motioned for me to continue on. I sucked in a breath through my nose and continued, "…not to mention the most handsome man, I've ever known." I said and trust me; it was a lot harder to say than you would think. He cleared his throat, so I added "Or in the world" which clearly satisfied him enough but he smiled before motioning for me to stop.

"That'll do but I suggest practicing it for future purposes, okay?" He said with a wink before lightly pinching the bottom of my chin, making me feel like a child. I just glared at him while he walked around the desk and sat down, making himself more comfortable. I shrugged off the childish glare when he started talking. "So what exactly did you want for the suit? Any specific design, fabric, or what…?"

While answering, I pulled up a (rolling) chair and sat down across from him. "Um, well the fabric will need to be something flexible because of the way I move around, not to mention practical. So nothing like your suit, because metal is too heavy for me to carry about, or leather" I shot a warning looking at him when I said "leather", making sure he heard me clearly.

"Alright, so no leather. Got it" He said, "Anything else?" He added, while pulling out what looked like a phone from his leather jacket.

"I would like it to cover me head to toe, except for my mouth and nose area. It can't be inappropriate because I'm going into public in this and I want to be taken seriously." He mumbled an "okay" lightly so I added, more sternly, "I'm serious, Tony."

"I got it" He said, almost child-like before returning his eyes to his phone's screen. He went back to typing on it so I stopped talking, thinking he wasn't listening until he said "Keep talking, I'm listening".

"The fabric needs to be fitting and light-weight. I was also thinking instead of just wearing a whole face mask or just a plain mask across the eyes, we could design my mask to come off like a hoodie, you know? Like when I'm done wearing it, it'll look like a small hoodie on my back, does that make sense?" He nodded.

"That's a good idea." He commented, only briefly looking away from his phone. It was then I really focused on his phone and saw that it was clear through. I could literally see what he was doing on his phone.

"What kind of phone is that?" I asked

"I designed it myself and it's not really a phone. It connects me with Jarvis at home and my software"

"Oh, I miss Jarvis" I commented lowly and I really did. Jarvis was just a piece of technology and not even an actual person but he had his own personality, not to mention his own sense of humor. When my eyes drifted from his phone, and my thoughts of Jarvis, I spotted a dim light coming from the middle of Tony's shirt. For a moment, I was confused what it was but quickly remembered that it was the arc reactor that was keeping him alive.

"Do you want to see it?" He asked and I glanced up, seeing his eyes on me. _Busted,_ I thought.

"I've already seen it before." I stated

"But you want to see it again…?" He said, making it sound like an innuendo causing me chuckle lightly.

"Maybe another time" I said, with a small smile.

"Alright" He said casually, moving on and then asked, "So, have you thought of a name or symbol for you yet?"

"Uh, name? No and I thought the symbol was kind of obvious." I stated with another chuckle. He shrugged his shoulders, "Tony, you know what my abilities are and where they come from, so use your imagination."

"So a spider…?" He asked, slowly

"Yes" I said with a slow nod, mocking him. "I was thinking it could on my back, right below where the hood/mask would be." He nodded along, "What about design?"

"For design…" I paused, thinking about it for a moment. I can't believe I hadn't thought about it earlier when I was unpacking all those boxes, it would have been the perfect time too. My eyes flickered over to the picture frame me, when I was twelve and I looked at my gymnastic uniform. My mother made it for me when I was younger because I wanted to try out for gymnastic, before being bitten, but it was held off afterwards. Jeffery altered it in size for me so I could finally wear it. My mom had made it especially for me. The outfit was red, except for the design on the front. From the top of the collar to my midriff was a small yellow diamond and then from the midriff all the way down the rest of the outfit was a larger (yellow) diamond. It symbolized a spider's belly, like the red diamond on a black widow.

"I was thinking for the design and colors, it could be like this" I said picking up the frame before handing it to him. When he stared at it for a moment, he looked up at me.

"This is a gymnastic uniform" He stated the obvious

"I know but the colors and design work together and I think it can work. Of course, they'll need to be changes but like I said, it works." Tony stared at the photo again before nodding.

"Alright," He said, "Let's get to work then." He said before grabbing a notebook and a pencil from my desk and began sketching. I, of course, moved over and began helping him creating my new suit.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

* * *

A/N:

Thanks to everyone who is reading and all of your reviews!

And this last part is a response to someone who goes by "ugh" every time they comment. Other readers do not have to read on, if they don't want to.

Here's "ugh" comment: "The "second best" coment in the movie scene had different conotations than it does in this story. Gwen wasn't just teasing him but chalenging him; indirectly claiming that SHE was the smartest scientist in thier age group and playfully defying him to prove he was smarter. You were really good about Jessica's character development so far but in the lab scene she just absorbed Gwen's lines and part in the story wholesale. I get that shes replacing Gwen as the romantic interest of the story but don't forget that they are two different characters who can have different internal experiences and interactions."

**First off**, I would like to thank you for caring enough to take the time and leave a review to point out my "mistakes". **Two**, I'm aware that my story differs from the movie (The Amazing Spider Man) and I'm doing that on purpose. This story will not be exactly like the movie, it is based off the movie and there will be scenes I use, obviously, but my character, Jessica, will have her own story line. I will be using some of Gwen's scenes for Jessica since in the movie; it's Gwen that's talking/flirting/dating Peter. Keep in mind, that this isn't just a story about how Peter became Spider-Man; this is a story about how Jessica Drew became Spider-Woman and the events leading up to that. **Three**, I know that Jessica and Gwen are two different characters. They have a few common interests, sure, but they are different. I believe that in the movie, while at Oscorp, Gwen refers to Peter as "second best" as a way of getting back at him for sneaking in. He couldn't just come forward and say she was wrong, because then he would be caught but that's my opinion. Gwen may have not been "teasing" him in the movie, but Jessica IS in my story. This is a fan fiction; so of course, I'm going to have to borrow lines for my character because I want Jessica to blend in as if she was originally in the movie. Isn't that the point of writing a fan fiction anyway? I'm not taking away Gwen's role in the movie, I'm just giving her another one.

**Four**, I love hearing reviews/comments and I love when readers give me feedback but please remember this is my story. I decide how I want the characters to interact because I have a plot line to follow too. If you want to read a fan fiction strictly based off the movie, I suggest finding another story because this isn't an exact copy. I love adding twists into my fan fictions because I think it gives a whole other outlook and also, it's exciting because if it's not exactly like the movie, there will be surprises and that's what makes writing/reading fun.

Now "ugh", if you choose to read on, please do because I don't want you to stop reading because you disagree with a few things but please do not tell me how to write my story. I am not being rude and I'm not trying to offend you in any way, I'm just being honest with you. Thank you for your review and have a nice day! :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Untangling the Web**

**Chapter Six**

"Thanks again, for everything" I said to Tony, with my arm looped to his as I walked him to the front door. "Are you sure you can't stay longer?" I asked

"Trust me, if I could, I would." He stated, "But I need to get back to California, Pepper wants me to go to an important business meeting." I arched an eyebrow at him, knowing that what he had just said wasn't like him. "Which I'm going to blow off..." He added and I nodded, that sounded more like him. "Besides, I need my technology to design your costume." He said, tapping his phone against his palm.

"That's a really cool phone..." I said softly, staring at it, right as we stepped out the front door.

Tony stepped in front of me and said "You know what?" before looking at the phone and began typing something. After he sent something from the phone, he handed it to me and added, "Here, it's yours"

"What?" I said, "No, Tony, it's yours, I can't take it."

"You're not taking it if I'm giving it to you." He pointed out and when I still wouldn't take it from him, he grabbed my hand and placed it in my hand himself before folding my fingers on top of it. "Keep it." He said firmly so I sighed.

"Well, if you insist" I then commented sarcastically, causing him to smile.

"Consider it an early birthday present" He said before giving me a kiss on the forehead.

"Thank you" I said with a small smile, which he turned before turning and heading to his car. "Wait a second" I said, looking at the phone before glancing back up at him. "Does this mean you're not getting me anything on my birthday?" I asked

Tony chuckled before glancing back at me; "We'll see" He said and sent me a wave.

I waved back, saying "Give Pepper and Happy my love!" He nodded and sent me a wink before pushing his sunglasses over his eyes and driving off in his burgundy Acura NSX Roadster. I rolled my eyes playfully at his choice of car and then walked back into my house, shutting the door behind me.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

As I sat at the kitchen table, eating my yogurt and granola breakfast, Jeffery turned on the news. The newscasters were still talking about me- well not me but the "mysterious girl", who saved the woman from the car. They were even talking about the girl I had saved in the alley on the same night. She must have identified me from the car accident footage and came onto the news. However, they still had no idea who I was, so I was in the clear. I watched as the woman (from the alley) came onto the screen.

She was being interviewed and was asked "Who do you think she was?"

She responded by saying, "I don't know who she is and I don't care. She saved my life and all I want to say is thank you" When she looked into the camera, it was like she was staring right at me and I couldn't help but smile.

I watched as the re-played the footage of me carrying the woman (from the car) and something stuck out to me as I watched. Leaving my remaining breakfast on the table, I left the kitchen and headed down to the basement.

After walking down the stairs, I immediately sat down in the desk chair and pulled up the same news feed that had just been played upstairs. I rewound the tape and went to the part of me carrying the woman. I was curious how no one was able to get a clear shot of me. After zooming in, I watched the footage again and like I had seen before, there was almost a clear shot of my face right before it was suddenly blurred.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Did the footage have a glitch or did someone blur my face out on purpose? I know the news wouldn't do that, or reporters, because they would want my face for their stories, so who could it be?

After considering the possibilities, I assumed it couldn't be a glitch because the rest of the area around me was perfectly clear. Thinking there had to be an outside source; I scanned the footage for any outside activity by using Jarvis' system.

"Something wrong, Madam Drew?" Jeffery asked as he appeared, coming down the stairs.

"I'm not sure." I said honestly, while watching and waiting for the footage as it scanned. "Remember when I told you there weren't any clear shots of me" Jeffery nodded, "Well, there is... well, there was. Someone managed to get a shot of my face but right as the camera hits it, it become nothing more than a blurry little patch of pixel of the screen. As if someone had blurred it out on purpose, in order to keep anyone from seeing my face."

"Perhaps this is Mr. Stark's doing?" Jeffery wondered but I shook my head in disagreement.

"No, I didn't tell Tony about me being in the news and if that were the case, his name, or even his software, would have shown up in the scan I just ran." I stated after the computer beeped, telling me the scan was complete.

There was an outside source, in fact, on the footage but unfortunately when I clicked on it, a small blinking window popped up saying 'CLASSIFIED'.

"Classified?" I repeated out loud before attempting to hack into the file but it shut me out. "Come on" I muttered as I watched the screen before noticing the logo pinned at the top of the window that now read, 'Restricted Access'. "Who are you?" I said, mostly to myself as I looked back at the bird logo. It looks like an eagle but I wasn't 100% sure, nor did it tell me anything about who this person was. Except that maybe they're a bird-watcher.

"The government, maybe...?" Jeffery said and I just shrugged my shoulders in bewilderment.

"I don't know... but whoever they are, they're keeping a close eye on me." I stated before clicking off the screen.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

As soon as it became night fall, I zipped my hoodie while walking down the staircase and head for the front door and shout "I'm going out!" to Jeffery before shutting the door behind me.

Since Tony had given me his phone, I took it with me so I could communicate with Jarvis.

"Jarvis...?" I said after sitting down in the driver seat and turning on the engine. I had synced my earpiece to the phone earlier and for the first time, I was trying it out.

"Hello, Madam Drew, it's been a long time." I heard him say back to me through the earpiece. Since he knew who I was automatically, I figured Jarvis recognized my voice from earlier discussions or Tony programed him because I had the phone.

"Now, Jarvis, how many times have I asked you to call me Jessica?" I questioned with a small grin before I sped down the driveway.

"Of course" He said in response. "May I be of any assistance to you, Jessica?" He said and I just loved his British accent Tony gave him.

"Is Tony around?" I asked politely

Jarvis responds by saying, "I'm afraid Mr. Stark is out at the moment. Shall I leave him a message for when he returns?"

_I guess Tony went to that "meeting" after all, _I thought.

"No, that's fine. I just wanted to check in and see how my suit was coming along." I explained, assuming Jarvis would know what I was talking about since he's- well, he's Jarvis and Tony has to use him to access the equipment he needs.

"I can check that for you myself. One moment, please." He said and literally "one moment" later, he added "Mr. Stark has already started production on your suit, and if the products ordered arrive on schedule, it shall be done by Monday night."

I smiled again, "Thank you, Jarvis. That's all I needed to know."

"You're very welcome, Jessica." He replied politely

"Goodnight, Jarvis." I said before disconnecting our connections while keeping my eyes on the road. I would be in the city in less than five minutes and I couldn't wait to fight more bad guys. This job was started to rub off on me already.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

By the time I had arrived home last night, Jeffery was already asleep so I tucked him in before heading upstairs to shower before going to bed myself. It had been a long night for me and the city. I probably stopped six or seven robberies and at least 10 assaults across the city. It's like people have nothing better to do then to cause trouble, or inflicted it, like there's nothing more fulfilling in life for them.

Anyways, I helped several people from getting hurt and helped the police catch their bad guys, so that's all that matters. Although I did notice a particular officer, who didn't seem too happy with my appearance but I digress. I didn't catch his name but I'll remember his face, if I were to ever run into him later on. And I had a feeling I would...

After waking up this morning, I'm not going to lie; I was a tad bit sore. When I entered my bathroom and looked in the mirror, I saw a little cut on my right temple, near my eyebrow. I didn't remember how or when I had gotten it but it wasn't something a little makeup couldn't cover, so no biggy.

However, the few bruises I had on my arm, I decided to cover by dressing in a white long sleeve top and a waist-length black cardigan. I also wore long (dark) jeans to cover up the small bruises on my legs and then slipped on a pair of old-fashioned-styled wedges just to finish off my outfit.

I did this because I didn't want Jeffery to worry. The bruises would go away in another a day (for me) so I didn't see the point in the point in bothering him with this.

When I walked down the stairs; I noticed how quiet the house was. I popped my head into the kitchen; I didn't see Jeffery, which was odd because that's where he was every morning... Suspicious rose in my mind and I began to worry.

I left the kitchen and went through the foyer to go to his room but stopped when I noticed a note on the small table. I picked it up and saw it was from Jeffery.

"Went grocery shopping, be back in a couple hours, call me if you need anything. Your breakfast is on the kitchen counter, cooked and ready to eat." I read out loud before walking back into the kitchen. A sigh of relief left my mouth when I realized he was okay and was in fact out of the house.

I was glad Jeffery finally got out of the house; he hadn't left since we first moved in. I tried to get him out more often and be more sociable with other people but he insisted on staying in and who am I to argue with him? He's an adult; I can't make him do something he doesn't want to do.

After finding my food on the counter, just like he said, I began nibbling on the pieces of bacon on the plate. Right as I took a gulp of my orange juice, I heard a knock against the front door. I knew it wasn't Jeffery because he had a key and rarely came in through the front door. He tends to use the door in the garage after he parks the car.

Unwillingly, I left my food and walked through the foyer once again before opening the front door.

When I did, I couldn't begin to describe how surprised I was to see the person on the other side. He was literally the last person I expected to show up at my house.

"Dr. Connors…" I said slowly, confusion no doubt shown on my face and in my tone. "What are you doing here?" I asked watching him carefully. His anguish was clear by the expression on his face and his body behavior, being that he was slightly jumpy.

He spoke softly when he said, "I was hoping… we could talk, if you have the time." He offered and after giving him a nod, I stepped aside and allowed him to enter my house.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

After sitting down at the kitchen table, I handed Dr. Connors a cup of fresh, steamy coffee. He quietly thanked me and looked down at the mug, his fingers fiddled with the glass rim. I noticed his (left) hand was also shaky as he lifted the cup to his lips and took a sip.

"Are you okay, Dr. Connors?" I asked as I became slightly worried by his rigid form. He was acting like the U.S. government was about to come beating down my door just by him being here.

"Ah, yes, I'm fine. It's just been... quite some time since I've been in this house." He said while glancing around the kitchen, his eyes showing reflection as he examined the room. I concluded that he had been here _at least_ once before but I didn't remember ever seeing him though.

"So, you wanted to talk about something?" I said, trying to edge him into talking more.

"Uh, yes" Dr. Connors said before clearing his throat and looking to me. "I wanted to apologize for how I behaved the other day at Oscorp. You just wanted answers and I acted completely…" He paused glancing down, clearly ashamed. After a low sigh, "I'm just sorry. Talking about your father, and what happened years ago, is just hard."

"Yeah, I can relate" I retorted with a tight smile, tapping the side of my mug impatiently.

"I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to grow up without parents. And I know you have questions, which I intend to answer the best I can." He stated, "But they may not be the answers you want."

"What made you change your mind," I wondered, "because when I talked to you at Oscorp, you seemed pretty sure of your answers then?" I took a sip of my coffee while waiting for his answer.

"You remember the intern from the other day? You said he goes to Midtown Science high with you?" He asked

"You mean Peter?" I questioned, my eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"Yes, Peter." He said but with his accent it sounded more like 'Pee-tah'. "Well, he paid me a visit himself yesterday and while talking to him, I realized how unfair I had been to you. Like Peter, you deserve to know the truth about your father." He explicated and I nodded for him to continue. "I lied to you; I did work with your father, as well as Peter's. We all were pretty close friends, as well as colleagues. Before your father and Richard, Peter's father, died, we had been working on cross-species genetics, crossing the DNA of a spider with a human's." He said, "We were all mocked as well. Not just in the community but at Oscorp too, they used to call us "mad scientists" but then _your_ father bred the spiders and everything changed... We planned to save the lives of many, including my own but then it was over... they were both gone." He paused again while I looked down at my mug. Even as he spoke again, I kept my head down. "I was... angry and I kept away from you and from Peter's family as well and I am truly sorry for that."

Hearing his words, I just wanted to stand up and shout, _"You were angry? What about me? I lost my father, Dr. Connors, and you only lost a friend. You can make others but I will never have another dad"_ but I held back, knowing it wasn't his fault for my father's death, or my mother's. I understood his anger, along with his reasons for staying away.

Moving on, I decided to ask him a question instead of responding to his last comment. "Let's say it worked..." I started; trying to pretend like it was only a possibility, even though I knew the reality. "What would Oscorp need with cross-species anyway?"

He shook his head slightly, "I'm not sure they would need anything from them, our only plans were to save lives. Oscorp wants to better the lives of everyone. We mostly focused on that."

"Were there any side effects?" I asked, thinking more of myself now.

He lightly chuckled, "Like I told Peter, it's difficult to say since no subject ever survived."

"None...?" I wondered and he shook his head. My eyes drifted again and my thoughts were just piling over with multiple questions but I couldn't ask Connors all of them, mainly because he might get suspicious of my motives.

"Peter agreed to come by tower someday after school, and I was wondering... if you would like to come too?" He asked

"I'm not sure I would be much help but sure, why not? Besides, I already work there" I stated and took another sip of my coffee while he sent me a nod and smiled at my words.

"Thank you" He said and I smiled softly.

"No problem" I replied and sipped my coffee again.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

By Monday morning, my bruises and cuts were gone, just like I had predicted, so I didn't have to wear any long sleeves to school, or even jeans. I decided I would wear something similar to my mom's wardrobe. I wore a white V-neck tee covered by a (dark) gray buttoned-up vest with a dark gray denim skirt and a pair of knee high (clay) tan boots. For jewelry, I just kept it simple with a small pair of silver hoops and my mother's locket.

As I walked down the stairs, I encountered Jeffery, who had been leaving the kitchen.

"Good morning, Madam" He said giving me a small smile and then took notice of my outfit. "Why... you more like your mother now than ever." He commented softly.

"Thanks and these are actually her boots." I stated with a small smile myself, looking down at them. "I can't believe they actually fit me" I added before adjusting the (tan) vintage backpack on my shoulders. I had already packed my books, notebooks, and even my iPad so I was all ready for school.

"I made you breakfast, just the way you like." Jeffery said

"I'm actually not hungry this morning, so I'll just grab a juice to drink on the way to school instead. Thank you though; I'll put the food in the fridge for now and eat it later." I explained walking backwards before turning around right as I entered the kitchen. Jeffery followed me into the kitchen and I did as I said and placed the plate of food in the fridge before pulling out a bottle of orange juice.

I took the cap off and swallowed a gulp before looking to Jeffery. "What?" I said when I noticed him staring.

"Have you considered what we talked about, a couple days ago?" Jeffery wondered and I furrowed my eyes, taking another sip of my drink before speaking.

"About my new night job...?" I questioned, not sure what he was talking about. We've talked about several things in the past few days.

"No, about school and possibly joining gymnastics" He explained and I sighed when I realized he was bringing this subject up again.

"Jeffery, we talked about this..." I started but he cut me off.

"Yes, I know but like I told you before, you loved gymnastics. Anyway, I called your school and they're having try-outs today and I told them to put your name down." He said

My eyes went wide while I said "What? Jeffery, I told you I didn't want to do that anymore and you had no right to get involved!"

"I know you're mad, I get it but I feel that this is what's best for you and in time, I hope you will understand it too. Besides, you want to keep your secret identity secret, you'll need to have a normal life style with normal-teenager-activities. Normal teenagers try out for gymnastics, or other activities at school to do in their free time. Just give it a chance." He said with his usual soft expression.

I wanted to stay mad long, and I could have but given that I loved Jeffery and he was like family, I always found it difficult to stay mad at him for more than two minutes.

"Fine" I settled with a bitter look. "I'll think about it but I'm still mad" I stated before turning around and walking out the house.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

After my 1st period, I found myself standing in front of the trophy cabinet, looking at school photos.

While I was in my own thoughts, over a photo, Gwen walked up next to me and looked at the same one. "What's wrong? You don't like your photo?" She asked with curiosity

"Nope, I've just been standing here for the past couple minutes debating." I explained

"Debating on what?" She wondered

"Debating why I decided to join the debate team in the first place" I explained further.

"Well, if it's takes you this long to come up with a debate, you don't have to worry about staying on the team long." She joked and my eyes flickered to her briefly, while giving a small smile before returning to the photo.

The photo had me and Gwen, along with the rest of the team, standing next to each other, smiling. It wasn't necessarily a bad photo, I just didn't like photos being taken of me and I still didn't want to join any teams at school. The only reason I actually did it was because Gwen practically forced me and said it would be fun.

I sighed, "Jeffery wants me to sign up for gymnastics but... I'm just not sure."

"I didn't know you were into gymnastics" Gwen said, slightly amused.

"I'm not, not anymore. It's been at least 4 years since my last competition."

"Whoa, why the long wait? Did you lose?" She asked, curious.

"No, I won; I just decided it wasn't my thing anymore." I said giving her a glance before we both turned to walk down the hallway.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

"I thought you said this wasn't your thing anymore?" Gwen asked while we stood in the corner of gym.

"It's not but Jeffery wants me to give it a chance and I said I would so..." I said

"Well, have fun getting back into "things"" She said before she attempted to leave but I stopped her.

"Wait, you're leaving me here alone?" I asked

"I can't stay; I have French in four minutes."

"Then you can stay for two" I retorted and gave her a begging look which caused her to sigh in defeat. She gave me a nod and I smiled.

When the girl before me had finished her audition, I felt my breathing stop, literally.

I looked over and saw Peter taking pictures of the few people in the gym, and also the girls who had been auditioning. I felt a knot in my stomach at the thought of Peter here, I mean what if I messed up and he saw me?

"I can't do this" I said and went to leave but Gwen stopped me.

"Oh, no, you're doing this." She said firmly

"What if I mess up? I haven't practiced-practiced in years" I said, still trying to leave and if it weren't for Gwen safety, and the fact we were in public, I would have picked her up so I could move.

"You can do this. You said that Jeffery had faith in you, and I have faith in you. You can do this, Jess." She said and I took a deep breath, taking in her words before nodding.

"Okay, I can do this." I said and gave a small chuckle to laugh it off. "This is just nerves." Gwen nodded along with my words and I actually believed I could get passed them until I heard a woman say my name, in which I attempted to leave again. Gwen stopped me, turned me around and basically moved me forward.

"You're gonna be fine, don't worry, you'll make the team." She said, trying to be supportive.

"That's what I'm worried about" I commented right before she let me go and walked back to the corner. With a small glance towards the two women standing in front of the platform, I walked towards the beam in the middle of gym.

When I did, Peter stopped taking pictures when he spotted me and sent me a smile.

"Hey" He said in a whisper.

"Hi" I said with a nervous, and quiet, giggle.

I turned back towards the beam, and looked to the women; they gave me a nod to start. I knew that this audition was nothing special. It was just a basic and simple try out but still, I found myself having doubts.

For a moment, I paused and when I did, I could hear whispers around the gym. I remembered a voice from the brunette girl I had seen a couple days ago, who had called me a freak.

_"Look at her, trying to be something she's not. I can't wait to see her fall on her ass."_ She commented and I couldn't help but (quietly) scoff.

After taking another deep breath, my nerves suddenly vanished and I was ready to go. Making sure I was a couple feet away from the beam, I began to run towards it. While running, I did a quick cartwheel followed by a backflip that was high enough for me to land on the beam, like I wanted. I landed perfectly on my palms and didn't even stop for one millisecond before doing another backflip, in order to meet the middle. When I did, I decided I would do a front aerial handspring and then follow through with a back handspring, no hands for either one. I ended with a backflip off the beam and turn towards the two women, who I figured were the coaches.

I had heard a few gasps from the moves I did, so I figured people were just surprised. When I looked to the bleachers, I saw the brunette and her face expression told me everything. She seemed utterly mad and was tightening her jaw as we made eye contact. I lightly smiled towards her, knowing I did all my moves right, and walked off the platform to Gwen.

"That was... wow." Gwen said to me when I approached her. "You said you were good but... wow." I chuckled at her while grabbing my bag and throwing it over my shoulder.

"Come on, let's go." I said ushering her out of the gym, but not before giving Peter a wave goodbye, which he returned, along with a surprised expression like everyone else.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

While heading to our 6th period, Gwen continued to talk on about how I was going to make the team and how I could have ever given up on something I was so great at? No, seriously, she did.

When we reached gym, Gwen and I automatically went into the bleachers and sat down. Flash and his basketball team were practicing (basketball) and across from them were the cheerleaders. At the very top of the pyramid they were creating, I saw the same brunette from before. _Cheerleader...? I should have known, _Ithought.

"Who is that girl?" I asked Gwen, getting her attention, "The one on top of the pyramid" I added so she would know who I was talking about.

"Oh, you mean, "Little Miss Priss" down there?" Gwen said and I half smiled at her comment. I guess I wasn't the only one who didn't get along with her. "That's Whitney Frost." She added and I nodded.

"What's her deal, anyway?" I asked

"What do you mean?" Gwen wondered

"I don't know, it's just ever since I got her, she seems to have it out for me. She called me a freak and I overheard her saying that she wanted me to mess up the try-outs." I explained

"I wouldn't take it personally, Whitney doesn't really like anyone." Gwen stated and I nodded again.

"Ah, I see. How could I possibly take that personally?" I commented with a sarcastic tone and in respond, she nudged me with her shoulder playfully.

"Oh, you know what?" She said suddenly, after we began pulling books from our bags. "I think I know why she doesn't like you"

"Why?" I asked

"Because she has a thing for Flash, they were dating until a couple days before you came to school. He broke up with her but she still flirts with him so maybe she doesn't like the fact that Flash has taken an interest in you." Gwen explained.

"But why is that my fault? I don't even like Flash and I've made that perfectly clear." I said

"I guess the girl has issues" Gwen stated

"Yeah, I guess so" I said with a light chuckle. When I placed my bag down, I looked towards the cheerleaders again and spotted Peter in front of them.

I smiled when I saw him just snapping away with his camera. I guess Gwen caught me staring because she asked, "So what's going on with you, tardy-boy?" I laughed at the nickname, mocking his tardiness.

"His name is Peter" I said sternly and smiled again when glancing at him, also adding, "And nothing going on"

"That smile says differently" Gwen teased, nudging my shoulder again. "I think he likes you too" She said, in a whisper, like he could somehow hear us.

"What's makes you say that?" I asked, looking at her. She looked at me and then towards Peter, so I followed her gaze.

Peter paused taking photos when spotted us and send me a smile, along with a wave. I returned it and tried not to blush. "That does." Gwen said, answering my question. I lowered my head, looking away from both and bit my lip to keep from smiling widely. When I looked back up, Peter was smiling at me and I couldn't help but smile back this time.

"Rejected!" I heard Flash yell, after knocking one of the boys down before he could dunk the ball. This caused my eyes to look away from Peter just in time to see the basketball bounce across the floor and hit a little (blue) bucket. It knocked it over, of course, and blue paint splattered across a yellow banner a girl was making on the floor in front of the bleachers.

"You did that on purpose, Flash!" The girl yelled at him, while standing up.

Instead of apologizing, Flash said, "No, but I should've. You better watch your back" After someone throws the ball back to Flash, they continued their game.

I saw Peter walk away from the cheerleaders and approach the girl, "Hey" I heard him say before bending down and picking up the bucket. "All right...?" He asked, I guess hoping that would fix everything.

A moment later, from the corner of my eye, I saw Flash slap the ball from someone's hand and it went straight in the direction of the girl. Right before I could say anything, Peter suddenly leaned over (without even looking in the direction of the ball) and caught it before it could hit the girl. He then looked down at the ball before looking at the girl, who I'm sure was just as surprised as I was.

I didn't even bother saying anything to Gwen, since she had seen the whole thing and both of our eyes were glued to the scene before us.

"Give it up, Parker" I heard Flash order, while Peter still held onto the ball. When Peter glanced at him, Flash motioned for him to give it to him with his usually smug expression.

While sitting in the stands, Peter glanced up at me for a moment before nodding towards Flash. "One sec" he said very casually before handing the girl in front of him his camera. Utterly amused, I watched Peter play with the ball as he walked to the middle of the court. I could hear the teammates complaining but Peter didn't seem to pay any attention to them. "Why don't you take it from me?" Peter challenged, still acting casually and I saw Flash snicker. Getting my eyes locked on them, I watched as Flash stood only two feet away from Peter, who had put his hand out slightly so Flash could "take" the ball. "Go ahead, take it" He said and when Flash went for it, Peter quickly passed to his other hand from behind his back. He paused allowing Flash to grab it again but Peter pulled the same trick from before but this time he raised the arm holding the ball. Flash, of course, went for it again but Peter managed to jump up enough so he could swing his arm (with the ball) around Flash and when Flash turned around in the other direction, Peter bounced the ball off his back. Several students in the stands began to gasp and woo over what was happening, and who could blame them?

I saw Peter smile widely, clearly having fun torturing Flash. I don't normally condemn such behavior but Flash deserved this and also... it was kind of funny.

I continued to watch as Flash took a step forward and Peter pretending to throw the ball at him but it never left his hand. However, Flash stepped back, not wanting to be hit. A few more people, including Flash's teammates began to snicker at him. "Just take it" Peter said, his voice was now serious but Flash didn't move towards him so Peter add "All right, how about this?" and place his hand over his eyes. He peaked through them briefly before moving his body to face towards the bleachers (I was in) and held his arm out (with the ball) for Flash. "How about that...?" He asked

Flash walked over, placing his hand on the ball and right as he turned to take the ball with him, he stopped. After a second, he placed two hands on the ball and tried to pull it from Peter's hands. No luck. I was surprised to literally see Flash struggle to remove the ball from Peter's hand and the agitation on his face. Peter removed his hand and looked at Flash.

I could hear him whisper "Come on, Flash, take it" as Flash continued to try and pull the ball away from Peter. I squinted my eyes at Peter and wondered what type of magic trick he was pulling here.

I heard a few people say "Let's go, Flash" trying to hurry him along before he began to back away from Peter. "Stop playing, man" Another teammate said watching him move backwards.

When Flash was closer to the basketball net, Peter began to dribble the ball slowly. He started to smile again, still enjoying this.

Suddenly, Flash yelled "All right, bring it! Come on, Parker! Come on!"

Peter then ran towards Flash and knocked him down just by hitting his shoulder as he ran passed him. Peter then jumped upward and my mouth dropped as I saw him in the air (in slow motion) right before he dunk the ball so hard that it shattered the backboard.

When Peter landed on his feet, shattered pieces of glass surrounded him and he was holding the entire basketball net (including the metal holding) in his hand. Gwen and I immediately stood up from the shock and our mouths must have hit the floor.

"What just happened?" Gwen questioned, glancing to me but I couldn't take my eyes off Peter.

"I have no idea" I said and judging by the look plastered on Peter's face, he didn't either.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

For about ten minutes, I had been leaning against my locker, waiting for Peter to come out of the office. He had been in there long enough, I thought. I was still trying to replay what I saw in the gym earlier. How could someone-more specifically Peter- be able to jump that high and then break an entire glass backboard?

Finally, I saw Peter come into sight and he wasn't alone; he was with an older man, who definitely did not look pleased Peter had been down slightly and by the look on the older man's face, I knew he was probably scolding him for what he did earlier today. Slowly walking forward, I listened in on their conversation.

"Is this the kid that hit you?" The man asked, and I figured he was talking about Flash. "Is he?" He added when Peter didn't respond.

"Yeah, yeah, but..." Peter started but the man cut him off.

"So all this is about getting even. If so, I guess you must feel pretty good about yourself now, right? Am I right or wrong?" The man asked but Peter didn't say anything, he just drops his head and sighed. "Yeah, I thought so" The man replied. "Well, thanks to this little escapade of yours, I had to change shifts at work so you have to pick up Aunt May tonight at 9:00. Understood?" Peter kept his head down, saying nothing so the man added more firmly "Is that understood?"

Immediately lifting his head, Peter said "Yeah, yeah"

"Okay, good" The man added right as I reached the doorway from the hallway I had been walking down. I just quietly stood by the wall, not saying a word, and only briefly looking at them. I didn't want them to think I was eavesdropping, even though I was. My plan to go unnoticed failed when the man talking to Peter spotted me before saying "She looks familiar." I acted like I didn't hear anything and casually glanced off right when Peter glanced back at me. "She's the girl on your computer" The man added in a lower tone with an amused smile on his face. I lightly furrowed my eyes at the man's comment but tried to remain oblivious to their conversation. I could see Peter shaking his head desperately to the man but he ignored him, saying "Yeah" The man leaned over, looking passed Peter to me and announced (a little louder), "He's got you on his computer." I didn't give a reaction since I wasn't sure what the right or proper one would be so I just glanced down. While still standing there, clutching one of my school books to my chest, the man added "I'm his probation officer." By my guess, he was punishing Peter's earlier actions with embarrassment. Lastly, the man whispered "Don't forget Aunt May" before walking off without another word.

As the man walked down the hallway, Peter followed him a few steps before forcing out his usual nervous chuckle and saying, "Okay." Peter then glanced back at me with another nervous chuckle before explaining, "He's- he's a character. That's my-my uncle" I took a few steps away from the wall to get closer to him. "He's a pathological liar" Peter added as I moved forward and I couldn't help but crack a grin. "He thought you were someone else" He stated, seeming nervous (again).

"Oh, man, you don't have me on your computer?" I teased, giving him a small smile.

"Well, yeah, I mean I took a photo of the debate team and you're in the debate team so..." He explained while pretending to use his hand to snap a photo. Note: when nervous, Peter using hand signals to prove his point.

"Right" I said with a short nod, even though I knew he was lying.

"So... he must have seen- I was touching up stuff" He added and motioned his hand like a brush, or an eraser.

I started giggled while saying, "You were touching up stuff?"

"Come on" He said chuckling again, "I was- I was... I'm not gonna answer that" He finished and my smile only increased when he did.

I managed to decrease my smile a bit to ask, "Did you get expelled?"

"No, no, I didn't get expelled. I got community service" He explained and I nodded before glancing down the hallway behind me when I heard someone walking by. I hadn't just been waiting for Peter; I was also waiting for Gwen as well. I took only one step away from him, thinking about leaving since Peter was being quiet but stopped, when he drew my attention by speaking again, "So, um, do you want to, um- I don't know, um…?" While I watched his expression very carefully, I could tell he was trying to ask me something but couldn't find the right words.

I decided to give him a little push, "Wanna what...?" I wondered.

He sighed heavily saying, "I don't know. Just, uh…" He bit the corner of his lip, trying to find a way to say what he was thinking. I had to keep myself from blushing as he did so, because he looked absolutely sexy biting his lip. He probably didn't even know how much, which only made me like him more. "I don't know- we could, uh…" He started and after sucking in some air, he left out a long sigh while continuing his nervous ramble, "Or we could do something else, or we could- if you don't feel like, we could-" He said and I knew for sure what he was trying to ask me now. He was, in fact, trying to ask me out and it took every muscle and every nerve in my body to not smile like a crazed maniac.

"Yeah" I said with a smile, stopping him from continuing any further.

"Yeah…?" He repeated with surprised expression as he crinkled his face slightly.

"Yeah, either one" I said, teasing his ramble.

"Really…?" He said still surprised and a smile started to grow on his lips.

"Sure" I added with a nod.

"Okay" He said gathering some bearings since I had agreed, "All right, good. Sounds good" He added, trying to seem less nervous.

"Cool" I muttered, acting coolly.

"Okay" He repeated before saying, "I can't- you know I can't right now, I can't right now."

"Yeah, no" I said, still trying to act nonchalant.

"I'm so busy right now" He stated out loud

"Yeah, I know, me too." I replied back as we both seemed to glance away nervously when it became an awkward moment. It was truth though, I was slightly busy and if I made the gymnastic team, I would officially be busy.

"But maybe, uh…" He started

"Yeah, just, you know…" I said and for some reason, I felt the need to play with my binder and turn around in a small circle while doing so as Peter said "Some other…" He started laughing at me and it was a genuine laugh too. I finished his sentence by saying "Time, all right."

He added, "Okay" at the end of his laugh.

"Bye" I said nervously as I began walking down the hallway, scolding myself for acting like such a dork.

"All right" He said in return.

I kept on walking down the hallway until halfway, when I glanced back at him. Like I had sensed, he was still staring at me and he had a goofy, yet charming, smile on his face. I quickly looked forward again and continue walking, praying I wouldn't trip while he was watching. When I rounded the corner, I leaned against a set of lockers and I lifted my book and began (lightly) hitting my forehead. I was felt embarrassed that I had been so childish and acted, almost, foolish in front of him.

I couldn't help it for some reason. For all of these years, I was able to keep my nerdy-ness under wraps but for some reason, I always slipped up in front of him.

"What did the book ever do to you?" I heard Gwen joked as she walked over to me, causing me to lower the book from my face.

"Cute" I commented bluntly and she half smiled.

"What's wrong?" She asked, sensing something was up.

"Nothing's wrong... I just talked to Peter" She made an "oh" sound and I rolled my eyes, knowing she was going to say "I told you so" if I told her the rest.

"So, what did the little photographer say this time?" Gwen wondered as we began walking out of the door.

"He... kind of asked me out." I said, still surprised even though I predicted he was going to.

"What?" She said, in disbelief. When I nodded, she added, "Wow, cool points for Parker."

"Peter" I corrected when she used the nickname by Flash.

"Same thing" She retorted before adding, "So, what did you say?" She asked, playfully poking me in the side to spill my guts.

"I said yes" I stated and clutched my school book to my chest again.

Gwen smiled and a small squeal came from her mouth. I laughed seeing how excited she was.

"Why aren't you excited?" She asked, "You wanted him to ask you out, right?"

"Well, yeah but I just... never thought he would, you know?" I bit my lip, "Peter Parker asked me out on a date" I said out loud and giggled afterwards, which caused Gwen to laugh.

She wrapped an arm around my shoulder, "So when's the big first date gonna be?"

"Uh, we didn't settle on a time or day yet, but that's okay because I'm actually busy right now."

"With what...?" Gwen wondered, "You go to school, you go to work and you go home." She stated, "You're right, your schedule is packed" She teased and I nudged her with my elbow in the side.

"I do other things too." I stated, being vague since I couldn't tell her the truth.

She laughed and said "Yeah, okay", not believing me.

"I do!" I said, standing my ground.

"Oh really, like what...?" She asked, stopping walking to watch my expression more clearly. Her lips turn into a straight line and she crossed her arms over her chest as she waited for me to answer. "That's what I thought" She said after a moment when I didn't give her an answer. "Still going to Oscorp today?" She asked as we approached my car. I was able to say yes but my phone beeped, pulling my attention away from her question.

It was a message from Tony so I opened the text and reviewed it in my head. "Not today," I said, answering her question. "Something just came up" I added, referring to my text message. Tony had sent me a message saying that my suit was ready but he needed me to try it on so it could be sized. I quickly replied saying I would be there as soon as I can. "I have to go to California"

Gwen's eyebrows furrowed, caught off guard by my comment. "California?"

"Yeah, I have to go to see a friend of mine who lives there. It's kind of important."

"Must be one heck of a friend" Gwen stated and I nodded, opening the back door of my car, on my side.

"Yeah, you might know. His name is Tony Stark" I said and threw my bag into the back.

"Wait a second... _the_ Tony Stark? As in Iron Man-Tony Stark?" She questioned

"Well, I just called him "Uncle Tony", although he probably wouldn't mind being called "_the_" Tony Stark" I joked and she gave me a fake laugh before switching to a serious expression.

"No, seriously, he's your uncle?" She wondered.

"No, but we've been friends for so long that he feels like family and he has that whole "fun, irresponsible, stay-up-all-night-partying uncle vibe" so..." I explained shortly and shut the back door before opening the driver side door. "Do you want me to give you a ride to Oscorp?" I asked, breezing off the Tony Stark subject oh-so-casually.

"Yeah" She said slowly, like she was still processing everything I just said. "I can't believe your friends with Iron Man" She said, in more of a mutter as she got into my car.

I snickered thinking it was amusing how people referred to and knew him as "Iron Man", not just Tony Stark. I never forgot that's who he was but I did occasionally forget how famous he was. And knowing Tony, he wanted the whole world to know who he was. No doubt was he was proud about it too.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ

As I pulled up to the front of Oscorp, Gwen stepped out. "Thanks again"

"No problem" I said, "Have fun at work" I added with a smile.

"Have fun in California with your "uncle"" She said but before leaving, she popped her head back in through the window and added "But too not much fun", giving me a parental stare.

I chuckled and nodded, "Will do" I said and she waved me goodbye before I drove off.

While driving down the road, I place my Bluetooth piece in my ear and said "Call Jeffery" to my car and it repeated my words, confirming my request before I heard the dialing tone in my ear.

After the second ring, he picked up. "Yes, Madam Drew?" He said into the phone.

"Hey, Jeffery, I won't be home until late tonight. I have to go visit Tony. He needs me for fitting my suit." I explained while dodging traffic as I drove down Main Street.

"You're going to California on a school night?" Jeffery questioned and I bit my lip, knowing how it sounded.

"Yes..." I said slowly and waited for him to respond back with a parental lecture.

However, he said "Alright, Madam, fly safely. I will see you when you back."

I paused for a moment, speechless. It wasn't like Jeffery to be so understanding, at least when it involved flying across the country on a school night. I shrugged it off and said, "Okay, I will. Bye, Jeffery"

He said goodbye back and disconnected the line. I took a moment and thought about all the possibilities for his odd behavior. Then it dawn on me, he did go grocery shopping the other day. Maybe, just maybe, he met someone and decided to take the opportunity to go out again. I smiled, hoping that was the reason.

I think after all these years of raising me; he deserved to have a life of his own.

ѫ Ѫ ѫ


End file.
